Anime lover

Es Volume 1

2010-09-15T02:07:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Broccoli Books
Country of origin
Japan
Length
12 volumes
Year of production
1997
Writers
Satol Yuiga
Artists
Satol Yuiga

Es may not leap out right away to much of us who are not total complete 110% Otaku as a familiar title, but maybe this is the title you should check out for the start of 2007.
Kai Kudou is part of an elite organization of psychics known as Ashurum, and life for him seems good. He‘s out there catching the “bad guys“ day in and day out, has this hot woman who is abit of an airhead but yet is so loyal to him it‘s downright weird, and his work seems so nice… yeah. So how come on one mission when he saves a normal girl everything goes south faster than you can scream “STOP E-MAILING ME, MR. FOLEY?!?”… no, really, stop e-mailing me.
The female partner who was watching the girl while he fetched her water is shot dead, and the panicky lynch mob who did it tried to kill him but failed (calling him a monster). Obviously he is not entirely in the know about his “teammates“ at Ashurum, which is clear once he gets back to the others and finds out that the woman who is so hooked up on him has fallen unconscious and her brother is well on his way towards a thermonuclear meltdown because of what happened to her, ready to take it out on anyone in his way be it human or “ally“… yes, Kai, that means you, get down.
Kai is left behind, and is found by the very humans who sometime ago were trying to kill him (but not the same ones as he wasn‘t killed). He ends up in their custody and… well… after a flashback as to how he ended up there (with that angry brother keeping Kai away from his sister then vanishing in a nuclear display of his power) it looks like an interesting door might open in Kai‘s future, and the opportunity to really do right by the people he wanted to protect might just be handed to him… if they can learn to trust someone who they see as a monster (and yes, somehow it seems Ashurum may be making psychics into “monsters“, but whether they mean it in a figurative or litteral sense remains to be seen).
The volume ends, and we‘re left with a few questions that can only be answered… next volume.
But for now, how about a breakdown.
Es BD T 1st… uh… oh, wait, you know what that means.
Right out of the starting gate we have ourselves an intriguing read. Yeah, at first smack it may seem like abit of a been there done that proposition but as the plot unfolds and the story develops I hope the story stands out and really shines on it’s own merits. Still it’s only the start and it right now has promise but also seems to be something you might have been down through before given the plot of man finds out everything he believes isn’t the truth and there’s more to what’s going on than meets the eye… then he offs and joins a rebel group to fight the organization he once belonged to and becomes everyone’s favorite hero while fighting to get back to the woman he likes while falling in love with someone else… or something like that.
But I did like it for a good start out of the gates, so let’s get Es a nice starting present with 4 “Jusy Say No To Being The Anakin” out of 5.

Dramacon V. 1

2010-09-15T02:05:00.001-07:00

Publisher
Tokyopop
Country of origin
Japan
Length
3 volumes
Year of production
2005
Writers
Svetlana Chmakova
Artists
Svetlana Chmakova

Meet Svetlana Chmakova, who we should all vote in as the poster child for the as yet realized “No Mangaka Creator Left Behind” program, a program that sends aid to overworked mangaka in the form of a working staff including screentoners, inkers, background artists and more. Because if Arina Tanemura (Full Moon O Sagashite) as a practical example can somehow manage to feed, bed and house a full staff of assistants (whom she often talks about in the sidebar panels of Full Moon O Sagashite) then we should gather an aid fund to do likewise for Chmakova.
I guess there’s also an object lesson here somwhere. Probably to the effect that if you ever thought you could make it on the manga docket solo, with a dream and a will, then I know somebody who will say you can do just that… just don’t expect to have a life, or anything.
Dramacon, in true The Red Star style, premiered back in 2005, seemingly flying low under the fandom radar and becoming one of those cult classics people always hear about (something you didn’t even know you had to be a part of). The title was low key (like The Red Star’s humble beginnings), was probably underprinted (another The Red Star quirk), and… yes… it took forever to see the second (of three volumes) released. In fact we are STILL WAITING for Dramacon V. 2 (3)!! Word has it Volume 2 will be out in October of 2006 (a year later according to my recent interview with Chmakova), but is it worth it? That long a wait? I say yes, Dramacon (like The Red Star) is “Always late but worth the wait” (paraphrasing, if I may, a die hard strong willed fan‘s thoughts on the title and how it was worth reading even if it took a long time to come out).
Don’t believe me? Fine. Let’s take a look at Dramacon V. 1, from TOKYOPOP, and see what I mean.
Welcome to Dramacon! Not the official name of the convention in this story but it might as well be seeing how the drama flows like an unchecked Antimatter Flow Regulator in Scotty’s engineering section.
Christie is not having a good day of it, especially seeing how her first trip to an Anime Convention is not turning out the way she thought it would go. When amateur manga writer Christie first thought of this trip to promote their manga with her boyfriend slash mangaka partner she never thought things would spiral out of control the way they did. However seeing her present situation you can understand her reluctance.
She is, after all, travelling with roommates from fluffy plush Happy Tree Friends hell in the form of insane psychotic catgirl cosplayer or her Enemy of the State hazard to the living male companion (sidekick)! And let’s not get into the failing love interest, for whom she has partnered with in creating her manga (Wary City), a so-called “boyfriend” willing to chase any cosplaying bunny girl’s barely clad behind at the drop of a rare Yu-Gi-Oh Millennium Puzzle medallion (and then willing to invoke the wrath of the O‘Reilly by trying to force himself on Christie in an emotional scene that should make him about as popular to fans as that female stalker who haunted Yuzuyu in Aishiteruze Baby… I.e. get the lynch mobs).
And that‘s just the hand she was dealt as original companions. Let‘s not forget the hordes of convention goers, rampaging hordes of screaming, trampling, over caffinated roleplayers stalking the hallways of the sleeping areas… (sheesh, get your own convention people!!)… and the many quirkitudes that makes an Anime convention an Anime convention… it eats you whole and spits you out, dammit!
(Obviously you can bet your bells, rupees or simoleons on the fact that Christie is not a happy Otaku.)
However a chance encounter with “I’m damn sure he played Cyclops in the X-Men movies” guy slash “cosplayer” (who “mysteriously” wears dark glasses in an indoor convention, but for entirely good reasons mind you) named Matt who opens new relationship opportunities for Christie, which is a bad thing because she has only a few days with him before he’s up up and away back to his own home turf miles away (E-mail, Christie! E-mail!)
The first volume details her first awkward, painful, scary, disturbing, potential filled, happy happy pain pain oh dear god somebody’s going to get hurt (bludgeoning hurt or trampling stampede hurt or oh dear god the security here are large troll from World of Warcraft size as well as emotional hurt) before it’s over.
When the year ends she has a whole year to wait until she can return to the “field of battle” with the second convention one year later, which gives her another chance to hook up with Matt (because nobody wants to think of former boyfriend after a year’s wait and the events that unfold in this volume).
Oh, yeah, apparently Dramacon’s conventions seem to be held in Animal Crossing realtime because it seems the book really did take a whole year to come out… can we get a live webcam of the con in October?
Uh… breakdown time? Yeah, breakdown time.
Breakcon the Down Convention… uh… the DramaAnime? (2005 Edition)
What’s Hot?
When it comes to praise I don’t throw out high praise very often, severely high praise is something I usually reserve for a few titles I’ve come across over the span of the year -- this, yes, is one of those titles.
It slipped under (or over) your radar last year, was a sleeper hit you didn’t know you needed to know, and was a solid read filled with a ton of quirks, ups and downs, and overall solid enjoyment people were clueless about experiencing… until now.
You have about a few months left before Dramacon V. 2 hits, so take the time now to get your copy of the original Volume 1 before then. You should have as solid a read here as I did, and now that Right Stuf International is having Volume 1 at a discounted price of $7.50 I don’t see why you shouldn’t have the incentive to check it out? Go on, check it! I promise it won’t bite… well, not to the point that you bleed or stuff in anycase.
What’s Not?
To be honest? Nothing. I can even withstand the long wait between volumes. Heck, if I can wait nearly 3 years to finish an interview with The Red Star creator Christian Gossett, then what’s a year amongst associates? I think I can take it.
Moments to Remember?
Why spare you the time from buying it if I tell you EVERYTHING good about it? Go buy it. Can’t you spare the $7.50 to $10 to get a copy? Like I said it was under the radar so you should be able to find a copy, or have your favorite bookstore order a copy for you ASAP.
What to Ignore?
In a bit of shameless advertising see if you can spot the cover to this volume in the convention scenes. It’s not too noticable but you should be able to spot it if you keep an eye out for it.
Also note how Svetlana Chmakova is so gunshy about getting sued by Japanese creators that she used no familiar faces in her convention. Miss Chmakova? They didn’t even notice they’re own character being bastardized in godawful hentai porn like the evil Sailor & the Seven Ballz (1 or 2), or the similar Anime Fiction (No, I don’t need to see it to know I’ll have an allergic reaction to it… probably because I am already familiar with the Cinemanga version of this shown some years ago on the internet, so I don’t need to suffer the ills of it to know it‘s no good).
Oh, and lest we forget let’s not forget the badly done Sailor Moon clones of the recent Sexy Sailor Soldiers (Critical Mass). So as you can see, Miss Chmakova, only you seem to be stressing over this… which is sad since Naoko Takeuchi (Sailor Moon) couldn’t even muster enough energy to fake caring enough to try and stomp on these perverted clones of her characters. Sure, you don’t need it, but still… it’s one to grow on.
Overall?
I don’t usually hand out high praise, but this is one of those titles that deserves it.
Sleeper hits like this, ADVManga’s Aria, Broccoli Books’ Galaxy Angel franchise titles, VIZ’ Aishiteruze Baby and Full Moon O Sagashite, these and more are all deserving of your time and effort to read. Expand your horizons, pick this up, and see the solidness of it’s construction for yourself. Nuff said.

Dragon Ball Z

2010-09-15T02:04:00.001-07:00

Publisher
Viz
Country of origin
Japan
Year of production
1984
Writers
Akira Toriyama
Artists
Akira Toriyama

Dragon Ball Z as many know, is the spin-off of Dragon Ball, Akira Toriyama's most famous Manga. Dragon Ball had such an impact on Japan, that it definitely called for a sequel. Now, I have read Dragon Ball, and it's my most favorite Manga that I know of. Of coarse I don't know of much. Like Dragon Ball, Dragon Ball Z Manga is better than the anime. Dragon Ball Z is the longest running anime yet known, and for that, it has a lot, and I mean a lot, of filler episodes, (more like fill sagas), re-used cels and a lot of useless talking. That is why the Manga is better.
Dragon Ball Z begins when Master Roshi, (Goku's former master), holds a reunion on his little island somewhere in the middle of the sea. Since Dragon Ball, Goku has gotten married and has a son named Gohan. Gohan doesn't seem to be like Goku when he was younger, but we later find out that isn't true. All seems peaceful when a strange man approaches and says he is looking for a man named Kakarot. The man introduces himself as Radditz, and he is looking for his brother. But there is no one named Kakarot that we know of right? Wrong, it turns out that Goku is really Kakarot, and that he has come from a planet not even in their galaxy! Something must have happened to screw up Goku's programming as a kid, but he was sent to destroy Earth, but rather he protected it. Radditz is furious at the news and steals Gohan. If Goku didn't kill 100 humans by the next day, Gohan would be dead. But of coarse that won't happen because Goku NEVER looses. Thus, Dragon Ball Z begins it's long, but very intriguing story.
There is not much I can tell about the origin of the Manga, I just read it. I'm not sure if there is any Dragon Ball GT Manga, but if there is, I will try to review it. If you have seen the show, you have to read the Manga. It is in many ways better.
7/10

Dragon Ball

2010-09-15T02:03:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Viz
Country of origin
Japan
Year of production
1984
Writers
Akira Toriyama
Artists
Akira Toriyama

I first heard of Dragon Ball as a tv show. When I saw that it was also a comic, I just thought it was exactly just like the show and I wouldn't get anything new from it. I was sort of right. Depending on which version of the show you have seen, you've basicly read the comic. The US version of the show is censored so those wanting to get the true version without spending $20+ on a tape can spend $12 on the manga. The show has added seens because the 15 page chapters are not enough for 30 minutes worth of stuff. But since it's not as long as the show, the pace is a lot quicker and more exciting.
The series began in 1984 and was published in the weekly Shonen Jump magazine. It starts off as a comedy and then slowly begins to change into an action comedy and then just action. Those of you who are used to the action in DBZ will find the first book very weard since there's hardly any fighting at all let alone a energy attack. The art looks nice and clean looking...it's just like the show...so it's not exactly the most detailed either. Viz did a nice job on the translation and I'm very pleased that they didn't mirror -image the pictures. That means you have to read it from right to left instead of left to right like in English.
Now for the story. You start off with a little boy named Goku who lives in a forest living by himself. He doesn't seem to be normal because he has a tail and he seems to have in-human strength. Soon, he runs into a girl named Bulma from the big city. She tells him about the Dragon Balls and they go off to collect them. That's just the first chapter and I won't spoil anymore. They meet lots of interesting characters. My favorite is Kame Sen'nin. The fighting in the first 2 books are just breif sequences that are more funny that actual battles. The real fighting begins at the end of volume 3. The fights here are more interesting than the ones in DBZ because the fights here are still hand to hand instead of energy blasts.
So, if you're looking for a action-comedy, Dragon Ball is for you. Just to warn you, there's some sceens of nudity and blood but nothing offensve. The nudity is used for comedy purposes.
8/10

Domu -A Child's Dream

2010-09-15T02:02:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Dark Horse
Country of origin
Japan
Length
240 pages
Year of production
1980
Writers
Katsuhiro Otomo
Artists
Katsuhiro Otomo

Katsuhiro Otomo is one of the great anime and manga giants whose work is widely respected around the globe. His seminal work Akira broke the mold in many ways and truly brought anime and manga to the attention of the US and UK markets. Domu first published back in 1983 on Japan's sci-fi grand prix award and the quality that garnered this award is clear from the outset.
The story is in many ways analogous to Akira as a battle between 2 forces either blessed, or cursed with psychic powers. The story centres around a housing estate in Tokyo where over the years there have been many mysterious murders, suicides and deaths all linked by missing pieces of the victim's property, usually trinkets or toys. The police baffled by the spate of strange occurrences, and start to investigate the housing estate. This leads to deaths of several of the police officers investigating the case but also of the uncovering of the source of all the pain and grief of the residents of the housing association. Unfortunately the blurb on the back of the edition I have gives that all away which doesn't lead to any suspense in the police's investigation.
Now as anyone who has seen Otomo's graphical work it is no surprise to see such a detailed environment and world realised on the page. The buildings are detailed; the character designs are clear and distinctive. And this goes for secondary as well as primary characters. The writing is also of a similarly high standard the narrative flowing freely, the scripting sounding authentic and neither feeling at all forced but allowed the freedom to develop at its own speed. The psychic battles are well portrayed between the two central characters, the understatement between the world around them being warped by the opposing power much more inventive than the anime portrayals of this power (you know running around, bright fireballs etc.).
Dark Horse publishing have treated this title with respect, the translation is good, the picture flop clear. The paper quality used in the printing also of high quality. They clearly understood the respect that needs to be afforded any of Otomo's work. Now this type of treatment warms any fanboy's heart as this is one of the godfather's of manga and this work should be treated with a level of reverence, bordering on but not quite the level of Akira. I really do recommend checking this out. If you like the type of stories that Otomo weaves then I cannot see any reason why you would not appreciate this.

Dominion (Volume 1?)

2010-09-15T02:01:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Dark Horse
Country of origin
Japan
Year of production
1996
Writers
Masamune Shirow
Artists
Masamune Shirow

Dominion is from creator Masamune Shirow creator of Ghost in the Shell and Appleseed.
Set in the not to distant future where worldwide pollution has caused toxic gas clouds to appear so low down that on anything but a perfect day, the people have to wear gas masks. It follows the exploits of a police division that use tanks; cleverly named the 'Tank Police' (Dominion is the base for the amines 'Dominion Tank Police' and 'New Dominion Tank Police'). Following the various members of the 'Tank Police', tank loving Leona, Leona loving Al and the explosion loving Captain Breten, are just a few of the members. They solve crimes and deal with riots along with tackling the evil Buaku and his gang, and helping to clean the air.
Masamune Shirow is a very popular manga artist; his work often contains stories with immense depth, tackling issues such as politics, computerisation, mechanisation and genetic modification to name a few. Dominion, at least compared to Masamune Shirow's other work, quite as complex. There are fairly obvious messages about pollution and what may happen if we don't slow down with current methods, but Dominion is more centred to comedy. Masamune Shirow's other work always contain light relief throughout, wither it's the Fuchikomas from Ghost in the Shell or Deunan and Briareos arguing in Appleseed. These were only for one or two pages every twenty or so, with Dominion however it is extremely hard to go more than a couple of pages without chuckling to yourself or cracking a small smile.
This also means the story is easier to follow with no complex political webs of deceit or people making long incredibly complex speeches or points on human existence. While these things are what made other elements of Masamune Shirow's other work so enjoyable, the lighter tone and story elements are not entirely unwelcome. This also makes Dominion a good start for anyone trying to get into Masamune Shirow's work. As the art style is very distinctive it some times takes a little getting used to, you don't always want to be digesting a hugely deep plot at the same time.
The characters are all well varied and come alive on the page just as you would expect from Masamune Shirow's work. The characterisation has not suffered due to the less seriousness in the main storyline.
Dominion is a good start if you want to get into Masamune Shirow's work if a little less deep than his other work. Also included are a number of notes from Masamune Shirow himself towards the end of the book containing information on where his ideas for Dominion came from. And in case your wondering about the '(Volume 1?)' in the review title, this because at the end it says 'end of volume one' but as far as I know there has been no second volume published in English as of yet.

First Look at Disgaea 2 Volume 1

2010-09-15T01:59:00.001-07:00

Publisher
Broccoli Books
Country of origin
Japan
Year of production
2007
Writers
Hekaton
Artists
Takehito Harada

Looks like Winter 2007 means just that, Winter 2007.
That’s good, because after I became enchanted by the original Disgaea (to the tune of a 4 out of 5) I would have hated to have waited for a sequel.
Disgaea, the short manga based on the video game RPG only so many people have heard of (much less played), returns to Broccoli Books with Disgaea 2 Volume 1. Note that I just said Volume 1, and Broccoli Books’ official site lists that there are supposed to be at least TWO volumes in this, which means more Disgaea goodness for us looking for a bit more than what we got last time.
Remember what we got last time? No? Then read my previous review. It’s around here somewhere. I think. In the meantime let’s see what’s going on now shall we?
Briefly Synopsis of Disgaea 2
Kinda sorta maybe based on the videogame Disgaea 2, you find that the focus has left from Laharl and his Netherworld antics to a new guy named Adell. Adell, as it turns out, is a lone human slummin’ it in a world of humans-turned-demons, made by Overlord Zenon… sure, San Andreas is scarier but not everyone can be tortured by the residents of Grand Theft Auto. Anyway it has fallen upon Adell's to, as the game’s protagonist (of course) to put the whammy on Zenon and make the world a better, less human turned demon, place so that friends and family can be returned to their normal selves… oh, and somehow within the first hour of the game he gets totally hooked up with Zenon’s curvy hot as heck daughter when his overbearing she knows better than everyone mother tries to shortcut the whole RPG adventure process by getting to the point and summoning Zenon so her son can kill him.
Never ever ever shortcut the RPG proc… wait… damn forget about it, she’s just too hot to complain about… where was I… oh, right, Zenon. Anyway now that he’s been bound by a standard RPG contract it looks like Adell is going to have to promise to take Rozalin (Zenon’s daughter) to bed… I mean daddy… along the way they can talk, engage in random battles for money and supplies, meet deranged wacky NPCs and engage in sometimes forced “humorous” dialogue, and mostly wonder why a game for the PS2 seems to sport graphics from the SNES era (which might have been believable if this was a PSP game but not if this was a PS2 game)… oh, and maybe Adell will kill Zenon when he finally catches up to him.
Well, that’s what is supposed to happen. However it seems a certain hot somebody from the last book is going to meddle in things… hooray for us (and no, it’s not the angel from last volume).
As the Disgaea One Shot ended we were sure that Laharl managed to unite both the Netherworld and Celestia in peace, and then he totally stopped doing things and became obsessed with playing Grand Theft Auto : San Andreas 24/7... Really, who hasn’t been obsessed with that game?
Etna (that hot as heck little darkside female counterpart of Laharl) is pissed by Laharl’s lack of doing much interesting (mostly since his “series” is done with) and decides to set out on her own to raise unholy hell… too bad she ends up appearing in Disgaea 2 the sequel when, in reality, she’s not supposed to be in Disgaea 2 the sequel… maybe. I just don’t remember seeing her in the X-Play review of the game.
Ending up the unwanted third party to a two party “dance”, she decides she wants to horn in on the upcoming competition known as “So You Think You Can Kill An Overlord?“ by bumping off both the reigning champion Zenon, and his “dance partner” Adell in order to become the next queen of this alternate netherworld… or Hillary Clinton’s Vice Presidential running mate (allegedly)… one or the other.
But as she comes into the picture Adell is already running off with hot and majorly “stacked” (I.e. expect more than a fair share of titular envy from Etna as Rozalin has more “presence” than her in one respect) Rozalin to bring her home to daddy… so Adell can kill him, more than willing to beat up anyone (or any female demon from an alternate reality) who gets in his way.
Not to late yet to suddenly turn this into a lesbian love story, Etna… just in case the idea of being throttled by the Disgaea’s sequel’s hero doesn’t appeal to you and all.
Stacking up (pun intended) to probably contain a fair bit of fan service and solid quirky humor I’m expecting great things from this new Disgaea release, and you should be looking for good things out of this “sequel” too. Look for the new blood of Disgaea, and the new face of good video game to comic translation to totally make you say “Warhammer what?” coming shortly to a good book store near you.

Disgaea

2010-09-15T01:58:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Broccoli Books
Country of origin
Japan
Length
1 volume
Year of production
2003
Writers
Arashi Shindo
Artists
Arashi Shindo

As far as video game to manga translations go we’ve been down this road before (and not).
With me we’ve gone down the whole Kingdom Hearts route, and while this is nice and all there are yet a ton more mangas out there based on video games of varying degrees of popularity. Some are based on well known franchises (like Kingdom Hearts), some are based on kind of well known franchises that either haven’t taken off well in America or is only now getting a foothold, and some are Disgaea, the manga.
Admittedly Disgaea, a self professed SRPG… whatever an SRPG is (think the S means Strategy)… is not exactly a well known franchise, at least to me. If you are a fan of Disgaea you know the score, if not… then help me, I never played it before. But we’re not here to review the game anyway (which you’ll probably need a store like Gamestop (Hilo or Kona) to find since it’s not something even Blockbuster seems to have in their used game section), we’re here to talk about the manga (inspired by the video game).
Welcome to the underworld… no, not the vampire vs. werewolf thing from the movie Underworld, but the actual demon infested underworld. A kinder, gentler… well, in comparison to other dark underbellies of demonkind this is the nice neighborhood of evil. Well here, where a rather fanciful overlord once ruled with an iron hand and a frequent pass to the local strip club, we start our story.
The overlord of this underworld is dead, and it seems there is no line of sucession to suceed him… until that said line wakes up. Asleep for two years (something that is totally understandable since somebody tried to poison him) Prince Laharl wakes up to find that daddy dearest is dead, and his chance to become overlord is at hand… if he can overcome the many who want to kick down the fortress walls (litterly) and climb on daddy dearest’ chair to take over… and maybe find his lifetime pass to SCORES Underworld.
But seeing how Prince Laharl kicks it back DBZ style (very powerful), and has a lovely “sidekick” in the character of Etna (his “vassal” who has her own “vassals” in the demon/penguin like creatures called Prinnies) it’ll take more than just a fancy dressed demon with an attitude problem to take over. It’ll take something more… like this fancy pants dressed weirdo with the unlikely name of Vyers (Dark Adonis Vyers), with whom everything (and I do mean EVERYTHING) is “beautiful” and “gorgeous”… mostly him, mind you, but… and he… oh, damn, let’s just call him “Mid Boss” and be done with it.
After fancy pants arrives (almost immediately thereafter) a ditsy blonde angel named Flonne comes on down to the underworld on a mission to kill the already dead overlord of the underworld, only to find thqat her target is dead… and she’s travelling with someone (Mid Boss) to meet Laharl who she thinks is stalking Laharl (immediately accuses Mid Boss of being a pedophile and a weirdo… yet at no time does Stone Phillips or the Dateline NBC staff make an appearance… maybe in the Anime coming in December), which leads to her wanting to become his surrogate father and… well… the weirdness doesn’t end there.
Though I should stop talking since this is only a one shot. However be assured that the strangeness of the title runs throughout, packs a nice humor with a devilish twist of being rather mature minded for 13+ Teen title since accusations of pedophilia and other things fly as well as a few cultural references and other weirdness comes up in this little gem of a manga.
It’s good, but it might not be a 5 out of 5. Why?
1-The title is based on a rather… well… Disgaea is no Final Fantasy in terms of familiarity as far as I know of it. Sure, sure, it might actually be a runaway hit title that everyone knows (which means I’m a loser again if I failed to know this series) but as far as I know it’s abit of an obscure game, thus making this abit of an obscure manga based on an obscure game.
Not that this makes the manga bad, it’s just that this might fly under the radar of quite a few who don’t know that it’s worth picking up… hand this to someone and recommend it.
2-It’s a one shot. That’s great since you got the entire series in one shot and all… but it also means there’s no follow through. Yes, there will be another manga based around sequel game Disgaea 2 coming soon… well… if you consider the Winter of 2008 (and by Winter I hope that means First Quarter and NOT Christmas) soon then by all means this is “Coming Soon”… yawn. Harry Potter Year 7 (and,come to think of it, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix theatrical version) is coming sooner. Spider-Man 3 is coming sooner… heck, the only thing that may not come sooner than this is Chronicles of Narnia : Prince Caspian (Holiday 2008)… uh… must I wait so darn long for a second Disgaea manga?!?
3-…bleah. I’m going to score now. Breakdown time.
Disgaea Breakdown
What’s Hot?
According to the back of the manga this is the first manga work by Arashi Shindo, the one who scribed this one shot. In that case congratulations. I’m sure by now Arashi Shindo has clipped down a few more titles in the history books, but for this self proclaimed first hit at greatness I have to applaud it being a solid first go. Nicely done, fine humor, liked the cultural references, and overall a nice solid little fun read. Going into my bag of tricks as one of the mangas I read through regularly just because.
What’s Not?
The long long long insufferably long wait for… what… another Disgaea manga? Do I WANT to wait… what… 16-18 months minimum?!?Do I? I hate waiting long periods of time! I’ll have a hard enough time waiting for Disgaea DVD V. 1 to come out in December, heaven forbid wait for this! Sigh… why?!?
Moments to Remember?
It’s a moment to remember just by having that bit of spunk of a fresh talent doing something interesting with their first go at it. I for one appreciated Arashi Shindo’s efforts, and they should be rewarded (now I guess I should do my homework and pick up whatever came next for Shindo).
What to Ignore?
I think I said already what I didn’t like about Disgaea’s manga future as a point of contention, so let’s stick to that as my only downer I wish I could ignore.
Overall?
For a first time at the manga bat Arashi Shindo hit’s a nice homer out of the park, for me in anycase. Dispute it if you like, but I’m going to ignore (for a change) the lack of a follow through or the long long wait for another book and reward Shindo’s efforts in the here and now. It may be three years too late but I’m going to give Shindo full due for this delightful little read that even surprised me by popping up for Disgaea five “beautiful“ Mid Boss appearances out of 5.
Now would somebody tell me if Disgaea 2 is out on the PS2 yet?!? Please!!

Dirty Pair: Run From the Future

2010-09-15T01:56:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Dark Horse
Country of origin
Japan
Length
1 volume
Year of production
2001
Writers
Adam Warren
Artists
Adam Warren

With the whole Best of 2006 voting thing coming around the corner (nomination process to begin November 1st) I was thinking about how it’s been awhile since there’s been anything of note in the AmeriManga category, what with this year showing promise with underdog Seven Seas and longtime company TOKYOPOP facing off with several interesting titles apiece. That being said I thought back to several notables in the category. Some are still relevant, like Ben Dunn for instance. While others… well, are not so. Take Adam Warren (please), now I’m sure he’s still in the industry around (and kicking some assistant as we speak) but for my own personaly experience he might as well have fallen off the planet since I haven’t seen anything of note from him in a long time.
Back in the day, when I was into his work, I followed his one big title… yeah, before the whole MARVEL Mangaverse thing and his going there which lead to whatever he’s doing now I used to read his take on the Dirty Pair, but that was then and this is… well, this is now. He doesn’t do the Dirty Pair anymore. Not since his last original title (Run From The Future), and his last George Lucas style revisioning of his work (Sim Hell Remastered) has he even touched on this franchise that he started quite some years ago, effectively falling right off the recogintion radar for myself at that point… not that his series was on the radar of many Dirty Pair purists who more often than not were quite opposed to his revisioning of the pair, sticking to their guns and the Haruka Takachiho vision of the series that has it’s roots way back in old school movie Crusher Joe.
Eh? Well, in brief here’s the overall evolution of the Pair (which, as I mentioned in a different piece, is embroiled in a popular urban myth concerning the “birth” of the Yuri (girl on girl action) genre).
Version 1
The original that appeared in a cameo (in the drive-in theater sequence) in Crusher Joe (movie). They later appeared in some novels written by Mr. Takachiho.
They looked different than they do in future incarnations, and this is the only version in which the pair had a bit of psychic abilities (while the on and off again representation of Mughi, their sidekick “pet”, resembled a Displacer Beast from AD&D as opposed to the giant fuzzy bear thingee from Dirty Pair TV/OVA, a look by the way that is revisited again in Dirty Pair-Flash but only in cute chibi form).
Version 2
The 1985 TV Series version (which also appeared in a OAV called Affair on Nolandia if memory serves me correctly... and it doesn't always do that so don't blame me if I'm slightly off) is Version 2. The psychic abilities are now gone, Mughi is a giant fuzzy thing (no longer the agile and striking Displacer Beast knockoff) and they gain a mechanical addition to the team in a little gizmo called Nanmo (if I remember right).
The series runs for 26 episodes and the aforementioned OAV.
Version 3
The 1987 OAV Series (new costumes and apparently a little older), sometimes referred to as Dirty Pair TV II or TV Season 2 with10 OAVs (or TV episodes depending on who you ask), one Movie and one more OAV rounding out this version.
Version 4 to 4b - Adam Warren's works fall into this Version.
Version 4 - The first two Graphic Novels (Biohazard and Dangerous Acquaintances) fill up this version. Kind of resembling the Version 1 Pair, Adam is just getting into the swing of doing this series and the series is more story driven, not to mention abit risque, at this point.
Version 4a - The second three Graphic Novels (Plague of Angels, Sim Hell & Fatal But Not Serious) take up this version. The Pair begin to form their own look while still maintaining a resemblance to their original counterpart, branching out into three stories that sees the title shift from Eclipse to Dark Horse (who swallowed up Eclipse if I remember right concerning the events of way back when), and an apparent series altering event that happens in Fatal which brings about Version 4b… the shortest lived version.
(NOTE - One of these, Sim Hell, got a redress with a Remastered version… which is, to date, the only Adam Warren Dirty Pair volume to get such a redress).
Version 4b - A one shot and this Graphic Novel round out the short history of this version, completely going in a new direction though not for long as Mr. Warren seemed to have become burned out by the Pair to the point that not even a complete overhaul could bring him back from the brink of shelving the Pair seemingly permanently.
Version 5 - Dirty Pair Flash! version. Going back to Japan we see the birth of the last Dirty Pair franchise series, which lives through a series of OAVs (now found on a single collector’s DVD available at a cheap price from Right Stuf International) and a series of mangas that, to date, have not made the jump across the Pacific to English translation.
(NOTE - I’ll go dig up that DVD set for you and give you a review in the near future).
Version 6 - Nope. Once upon a time I was optimistic about the birth of a 6th Version of the Pair…. But now that all this time has passed I have become jaded to the fact that there will probably never be a 6th version of the Pair. Never.
Sure, go on, prove me wrong Haruka Takachiho or Adam Warren, prove me wrong. I, for one, am not ashamed to admit that I want to be proven wrong at least where this one “Fact” as it presently stands is concerned.
Now, as you came here to relive the glories of Adam Warren past… here it is. The final original run series of his Dirty Pair franchise, Run From The Future.
Run From The Future
Ah. The wonders of the intergalactic black market. You can buy almost anything… except maybe copies of Small Favors (the definitive lesbian erotica comic series that is harder to find than peace in the Middle East), which brings us to this seemingly final ride of the Pair. Yuri and Kei have come to Nimkasi Habitat, a black market "world" where paranoia and mistrust is the golden rule (so much so that the world is a gigantic version of "Big Brother" and guests are only allowed to stay 100 minutes to do their business).
Here, on this world, the Pair have come to do the Dog the Bounty Hunter thing and collect up some 50 of the galaxy’s most troublesome slash nasty slash weird people for extradition (and no, a certain former pop star isn‘t one of them… though a strange thing that looks like Teddy Roosevelt is here along with the rest of the freak show).
That, by the way, is a harsh number. 50 criminals divided by 100 minutes, with the entire series basically having them run about this station catching them left and right with the twist coming with them being captured and coming near death in the final part (which brings about a chance to see a Yuri/Kei in their youthier youth flashback) (which you don’t see again until the bonus material in Sim Hell Remastered) before it’s all over and somebody pushes the panic button.
Being how this is the last Pair you would have thought something good would come of this… and yet it doesn’t happen. This is the pace of the Pair as the series finally sputtered out of steam, more visual splash and splendor than it’s original storyline heavy risque without overdoing the fan service way. This is for those of you who love their pleasures guilty and shameless, because the pleasure in this final outing IS guilty AND shameless at the same time… which may, or may not, be a good thing.
Breakdown time.
Dirty Pair-Run From The Future Breakdown
What's Hot?
That basically depends on who you ask. Really.
Purists mostly never liked the Adam Warren Pair to begin with, so when realization finally sets in that Adam Warren may never return to the Pair? You won’t see them cry anytime soon… they might throw a Dirty Pair Convention to celebrate, sure, but they won’t cry on the passing of the 4th Version of the Pair.
May I recommend, if you have the consoles, time and the monthly subscription fee, the world of Final Fantasy XI for your convention? It’s a relatively quiet MMORPG now that everyone’s moved on the Guild Wars, Star Wars : Galaxies (version 2) and World of Warcraft so you will probably have whole cities for yourselves and your virtual convention. (Of course if you want a free place to meet you’ll go Guild Wars).
What's Not?
It's been... what? Originally when I first penned this it was two years since Adam Warren did a Dirty Pair series (2002). Now it‘s way longer than that (four years going on five)! When will he do another one? I don’t think so, but that’s my own personal grumble on the whole thing. In fact… I don’t even know WHAT he’s doing anymore!! Anybody know what Adam Warren is doing these days? Anyone? Please e-mail me if you know! Thanks.
Moments to Remember?
Yeah. There's some memorable parts here, if you like your guilty pleasures it‘s memorable. And that little 4-1-1 basically says it all about Run From The Future… so nuff said about that.
What to Ignore?
Not much to ignore… shouldn’t since this is the last hoorah after all.
Overall?
The series is over, and like I said above it’s all a matter of taste here. There is no middle ground when it comes to Adam Warren’s now defunct Dirty Pair franchise, you are either pro or anty-AWDP…. But if you are a fan of Adam Warren (whatever he’s doing now) and want to be Pair Curious then you should really start to check these out. Maybe you’d like to start here… or maybe back in the heydays when the series was fresh and new and starting to grow (back in the Eclipse or early Dark Horse days)?
Either way, there are six volumes in the series so check them out.
As for this one? Give a Warren neither a break nor a hard time, which I shall do as I poke this one right down the center line and award Adam Warren’s Dirty Pair : Run From The Future a straight up middle of the road three… out of 5.

DinoWars #1 to #2 of 4

2010-09-15T01:54:00.000-07:00

Publisher
Antarctic Press
Country of origin
US
Length
4 volumes
Year of production
2006
Writers
Rod Espinosa
Artists
Rod Espinosa

Oh, joy, another Independence Day end of the world title… only, wait for it… wait for it… it might actually have a point AND that point will actually make sense! Yes! A title about rampaging impossible to defeat enemies that actually makes SENSE and is logical to boot! How insidious!The first two of this four parter might not yield the logical part, but once you get to Issue #2 and it’s all laid out before you (I’ll go over it with you on the next review) you’ll see the gold lining to this seemingly “alsoran” monster masher and realize that (once you ponder it and think about it) it all makes sense. Really.
But short story since I’m warming you up for the closing review next time.
Mankind has returned to the moon, and while on the moon one Mr. Hank (he who might have been cloned from da Schwarzenegger) Armstrong, along with his fellow ‘nauts, gets ambushed by the first wave of invading dinosaurs! Before you can say “Wow! It’s like Independence Jurassic Park Day!” the dinosaurs attack! From there it’s all action and military fighting a losing battle against the small to oh (bleep) that’s a (bleep)in big dinosaur action from there on out.
But let’s tune away from that as the actual story, and thus the logical reason why this is all coming down, goes to the hot little blonde former girlfriend (who he might have a shot at again) named Debra McDonald who has two little dino-visitors in her house. These two are the emissaries for the OTHER faction of the ‘saurs, and yes… there’s TWO factions… sorta like Leonard Nimoy’s dinosaur series from years back… oh, and as it turns out this side has the answers to why this is going on and after they play a little “Deal or No Deal” (the Planetary version) with the UN (good luck) their side might come down on the Earth’s side and help them save themselves from the bad dinos… if they are only willing to give up land to them.
So basically the Earth is screwed since the odds of that are so not good. Bye, bye Earth.
As the second review comes soon we’re about to find out the “past” of these space faring dinos (hint : nope, aliens did not kidnap them), why they’re here and why this whole scenario actually makes sense (and yes it will make sense, but here’s how to put it… remove the dinosaurs, push the clock forward, and imagine the same scenario with humans instead of dinosaurs as the aggressors and you’ll get a good idea why this works). In short it might be a Saturday cinema monster basher in the vein of Independence Day, but once you get past the giant city smashing creatures and so forth and see the reasonings behind this whole invasion and you’ll see there’s a bit more depth to this. The story and how it came to be, thus, isn’t our problem.
It’s the ending that scares me. As of the end of Issue #3 I don’t see how this could all wrap so quickly less we have more issues to come because the way it ends it doesn’t seem to me as if it leads itself to a quick resolution (not by a long shot)! But still, all in all I am more upbeat about this than disappointed.
What looks like a mere action yarn has a story, one that works no less (which is rare), and the action is nice as well (I mean damn, rampaging invading dinosaurs from space) so how can you go wrong here? In anycase its better than Independence Day so you should find some joy in it.
DinoWars #1 & #2 get 4 Steven Spielberg directed live action tie-in movie contracts out of 5.
DinoWars and all related characters are TM & C 2007 Rod Espinosa.

Digimon GN 1

2010-09-15T01:51:00.001-07:00

Studio - TOKYOPOP
Age - Y (Youth 7+)
By Yuen Wong Yu
TOKYOPOP Staff
Translator - Davis Truong
English Adaptation by Lianne Sentar
Retouch and Lettering by Jackie Medel
Senior Editor - Mark Paniccia
Before We Begin
If there's one thing I can't abide by is a clone series. And when most people regard Digimon that is exactly what they first think, clone series.
In this case, of course, it's a clone of the more popular Poke'mon series. Later Digimon tries to change (set in the "real world" in Season 3) but by then it's too late and the series eventually fades from memory.
So, if that is the case, why bring up the manga?
Sometimes just because you can't stand watching the Anime doesn't mean you will have the same reaction to the manga... then again...
Oh, yes, there are in fact TWO versions of this.
This manga (TOKYOPOP), and a short lived Dark Horse "Ameri-Manga" version whose story is more closely linked to the Anime than the manga (only one Graphic Novel I know of exists collecting Issues #1-#9, but it might have had more...)
Graphic Novel 1
Ah, the ills of camp.
Being picked on by bullies, the long boring hours without much to do, the lame events, the crazy weather that threatens global stability, the strange devices that fall out of the sky and transport you and your fellow campers into some strange new "world"...
Yeah, doesn't camp just suck?
This is exactly what happened to Tai and company.
One minute they're in camp bored out of their mind, close to death by boredom.
Next they're on a strange new "world", close to death by rampaging "Digi" things.
Yeah. A world where EVERYTHING is a "Digi" something. Digi-this, Digi-that, Digi-yawn... Digi-curses, and Digi-duh. Sigh... Digi-move on.
The first thing the gang does is find their new "companions" (Digimon), next they're on the run (away from bad Digimon, or towards them sometimes depending on the plot) while searching for a way home.
Before this book is over everyone will have had their Digimon "modified" and evolved with the ability to use a more powerful "form"... and that's it.
Three points.
1-The search for a way home.
2-A long roadtrip which leads the gang of seven into situations where they have to fight bad Digimon with giant gears sticking out of them (bad gears from the evil DIY Network which makes good Digimon into bad Digimon) which brings out...
3-The evolution of each of the seven's Digimon so they can use more powerful forms.
Very simple... too simple as a matter of fact. Straightforward plot isn't it? Yeah.
Breakdown time.
Digimon Breakdown
What's Hot?
Not going to become an "Advocate" of the series. I saw some of it, and I didn't like the Anime.
However I somehow found the manga at least readable, and in some respect tolerable for my collection. Why? It's not particularly deep, nor does it do anything particularly amazing with the idea set in the first Graphic Novel storywise and yet -- well, I read it and kept it.
I wasn't compelled to get further Graphic Novels... yet. But I might one day... maybe.
What's Not?
Well, let's face it... if you are a major critic of the series and totally down on it from word go? There's little chance you'll even humor the manga. And add to that the fact that the manga isn't going to convert you to Digimon fandom after reading it? Well, there's just as many reasons to avoid this as there are to give it a fair chance and read it.
I'd have to say that this is a judgment call, pure and simple.
If you can? Give it a shot. If not? Don't. Simple as that.
Moments to Remember?
There are a few memorable moments, believe it or not. Usually in relation to Mimi or Sora... or maybe I just liked their parts because they're the only female cast of the group.
What to Ignore?
Don‘t like Digimon then there‘s no need to read it. Ignore the book.
Overall?
Total judgment call on this one. I think it's easier to read stuff like this than have to watch it... that way I won't have to have some of the "music" and other things relentlessly pounded into my skull over and over again (just a few viewings and some of the things about it like the Digimon "musical score" is imbedded with all the staying power of glass shards into my conscious... which isn't a good thing from my POV).

Manga Fans Unite! Di Gi Charat GN 1 & 2

2010-09-12T06:09:00.001-07:00

Studio - VIZ
Age - ? ? (no age posted)
By Various Creators
VIZ Credits
English Adaptation by Gerard Jones
Translation - Mari Morimoto
Touch-up and Lettering - Andy Ristaino
Editor - Eric Searleman
Before We Begin
Ah, the dysfunctionalism of Di GI Charat in manga format!
VIZ has the rights to Di Gi Charat... and so does Studio Ironcat (the studio formerly known as Studio Ironcat and then IC Entertainment before becoming Studio Ironcat... again... and so does Broccoli International! That is three separate studios with their own version of the manga, and their own series to collect!
Then again even the Anime has dysfunction problems with ADVFilms owning Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charact (which seems to be a "prequel" to Di Gi Charat) while BANDAI has the rights to Di Gi Charat Nyo which is probably set on Earth!
So, remember, when buying into this series you'll have a lot to remember!
Manga wise you'll find books from VIZ, Studio Ironcat and Broccoli International.
Anime wise you'll find DVDs from ADVFilms and BANDAI.
Why they couldn't have consolidated all of these under one banner studio apiece I don't know.
Graphic Novel 1
Basically a series of short stories with very little connecting them except for things here and there.
Included are works from Koge Donbo and other creators you may or may not know.
What kind of stories are there?
- A three part "party" story introducing everyone.
- If you don't blink you won't miss the one page skit that introduces another Koge Donbo series I reviewed before, mainly Pitaten (TOKYOPOP).
- It is better to give than to receive, especially when your giving grief in the form of a large bomb at the grand reopening of your place of business after it was blown up previously as part of your continuing rivalry with one of your co-workers... or something like that.
- Is Digiko ready for the Japanese education system? Is the Japanese education system ready for her? Looks like Digiko's boss wants her to experience a day at school, which may not be as good an idea as it seems.
- Ah! Nothing like a concert to wrap the end of a good Anime series... what Anime series? Demand it from ADVFilms and BANDAI respectively if you can't get it right now.
- Why is Gema living with Rabe En Rose? Who left their Magical Girl transformation tool in Gamers? Why must Limone repeat himself since I heard him the first... oh, wait, that's another review from this week!
All that and more in this book.
Graphic Novel 2
Ah. Another book of seemingly unconnected stories from various creators.
This time it heralds the arrival of rival Puchiko (who seems to have gotten a raw deal in her role in Panyo Panyo Di Gi Charat... but that's just my opinion) and later of her Dark Gema Gema Gang.
Highlights include --
- Ah, apparently Julie Andrews was not available for this crash course on being a princess -- so Gema will have to do... badly.
- Why are things going so wrong in Gamers? Could it possibly be the use of dark magic? Could be.
- Who has stolen Digiko's clothes -- no, no, she's NOT naked, she just doesn't have her trademark clothes... yes, she's dressed otherwise.
- Will Digiko and Puchiko starve to death when there happens to be nothing in their apartment, not even the all important essential of rice? (Or will she turn to a life of failed crime to survive?)
- Must business in Gamers ground to a halt because the cash register has died a technological "death"? Can't anyone add numbers in their head anymore?
That and much much more!
Di Gi Charat Breakdown the 1st & 2nd
What's Hot?
It's got that kind of strange appeal, this title.
It's cute and got a wicked little bite of humor that makes it different and unique.
I liked reading it and all the mini stories from the various creators was really good.
What's Not?
Nothing seems to be very stable with this, not even the format of the books!
This is mini stories written by various creators.
Studio Ironcat's version is akin to the format of Azumanga Daioh (four panel skits) rather than the short stories format of VIZ's books.
And I haven't seen Broccoli International's books so I don't know how that is.
Some uniformity in publishers (so at least I can have an easier time getting them to read) would be nice.
Moments to Remember?
There's lots of memorable things. And this time it's all about the humor and the fun.
The rivalry between Digiko and Rabe En Rose, the interactions, the humor, the skits. I like it all.
Lots to remember here, folks! Lots!
What to Ignore?
Not much. Not even the fact you have lots to choose from in terms of reading material.
The only thing I don't like is Puchiko and the Dark Gema Gema gang thing.
I don't know but I guess I expected better somehow, sorry.
Overall?
I like it. It's a good read. Humor with bite and overall a nice read from all these creators, something well worth looking forward to.
Maybe if I saw the Broccoli International version soon I'd be able to say more of it, but for now I'm going to sit on top of this and wait. Still there's no need to sit on the fence like I'm doing. Go and buy this! Now!

Devilman Lady (Japanese)

2010-09-12T06:08:00.003-07:00

I first across this manga in a small (but well stocked) comic shop in Sheffield. At the time this was the only place outside of London that would stock Japanese language manga, and as my visiting the shop is rare occurrence I snapped up the earliest volume I could find. You might think that buying a comic in a language where you can't even read the basics is a strange thing to do, and you'd be right.
But Japanese manga (or tankoubon, the compiled editions) are very cheap compared to Viz, Darkhorse or any of the other major western publishers' equivalents. I'm not sure of the reasons for this, but you'd pay at least half the amount for a similar product in Japan as you would the US or Europe, plus you get a nice dustcover and extras such as pull-out posters included in the price. Those of you who remember Viz's graphic novels before they dumped the dustcovers (for cost reasons, presumably) will know what I'm talking about: it just feels nice and looks classier.
Anyhow, back to the point! I didn't have to pay much, just a few pounds and I got myself a tankoubon that will most likely never be published in this country or any other English speaking country, for that matter. You see, Devilman Lady contains graphic scenes of rape and violence. I can't be sure of the exact nature of these scenes because I can't read the words, but it's pretty damn obvious what's going on. In the volume I purchased (2) a school girl is seemingly sodomized against her will within the first few pages and Devilman Lady herself witnesses her friend Ran as she is raped by a demon, only to fall victim to the same fate some time later. These scenes are not as graphic as those printed in specialist pornography, but they do show about as much as Japanese censorship laws will allow. Many will be offended by their inclusion in a comic, regardless of how the events are portrayed. I'm not going to attempt to address the issue of the rights and wrongs of including this sort of material in a comic, but it would be wise to note that the rapists are villanised and punished (usually killed by Devilman Lady) for their crimes.
In this early volume the plot is fairly straightforward; Jun (assuming the names are the same as the anime version) is a school teacher who fights demons as her alter-ego, Devilman Lady. I'm not sure of her relationship to the Ran character, but she appears to play a similar role to that of Ryo in Devilman; locating and helping fight the demons as best she can. The second volume introduces us to a demon posing as a fellow teacher. He begins to rape the pupils before meeting his match in Devilman Lady, although Jun appears to be struggling to come to terms with demonic powers at this stage and struggles to transform in time to save Ran from being raped. Having dealt with one demon with a taste for rape, her next adversary is the female Siren that you may recognise from the Devilman OVAs.
As is the case with the OVA, this fight sequence with this demon bird is a real highlight. Go Nagai can really illustrate an excellent fight scene. Everything remains cohesive throughout, I never found myself getting lost or confused as to where the characters were in relation to each other and what they were doing. His bold, simple page layouts make good use of available space, illustrating movement with heavy use of zip lines. These fights take up well over half the volume, which makes this one very action-heavy manga.
With the simplistic plot, plenty of reference material and all this action, I was able to enjoy reading trough Devilman Lady. I later went back to the small shop in Sheffield and bought two more volumes that were on sale for less than a third of the price that I'd bought volume 2. These were volumes 11 and 15. Volume 11 is much the same; Jun is still working as a teacher and Devilman Lady is fighting an octopus demon. However, we are introduced to one interesting character. During a fight with some anonymous demons (who again try to rape our heroine) she is saved by a floating skull that scares the demons away. Falling to the ground, she picks it up and takes it home with her. It has two bat-like bones protruding from the temples much like Devilman, and also features a similar bone structure around the mouth (Devilman Lady retains her human mouth when she transforms, unlike Devilman who mutates into a grotesque demon face). For some reason she sketches on paper what she imagines the body of her rescuer to look like, a kind of costumed super-hero with a bone patterned outfit. Even stranger than that, she actually goes ahead and makes the costume, with boots, gloves and all!
As Jun is sound asleep (she must be tired after all that sewing) the costume and the skull magically rises to form a kind of dead, flying Devilman who goes out to slay demons in the night. It makes no sense whatsoever, and no matter what the Japanese text explains, it won't stop the concept from being totally bonkers.
By the 15th volume the strange costumed Devilman skull is gone, but believe it or not, thing have gotten a lot weirder. The first half of the volume features someone who looks an awful lot like Ryo from Devilman wandering around what appears to be a depiction of hell, Cerberus and all. Here he finds Devilman (fully skinned with no silly costume) in a proper thinking man's statue pose. Perhaps he is pondering the carnage happening in the other world, where Jun and the rest of the world face an apocalyptic situation. The demons are out in greater numbers than ever and the yakuza style organisation that appeared briefly in volume 11 appear to be responsible. The earth is fighting back, however, as they prepare for the fight with armies, tanks and special forces. We see Jun suited in special armour along with several other people. These turn out to be demons who have human instincts, just like her. They fight alongside Jun during the battle, ripping through the enemy hordes and jumping around like acrobats. Not all of them survive, however, as there are some demons who are just too powerful. At the end of the volume Jun is faced by two of the most powerful, both standing at least twice or three times as tall as her.
This apocalyptic finale to the series (I assume this is near the end) is not that dissimilar to Devilman, although I don't know if she eventually faces the devil or who the devil really is. Regardless, this is the natural climax to such an action orientated manga and I hope the TV series follows a similar path.
I can't give Devilman Lady a rating. Not only do I not understand Japanese, I haven't read more than the three volumes I own. Having said that, I can wholeheartedly recommend it to Devilman fans. If you're lucky enough to see it, buy it. Not only does it look pretty on the shelf, it's fun to flick through the pages and see Devilman Lady as Go Nagai intended her. Namely, kicking demon's all over the place!

Destiny’s Hand V. 1

2010-09-12T06:08:00.001-07:00

This year, I suppose, is about as good a time to release your pirate related product as possible.
What with Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man’s Chest being out and all, and it raking in over 200 million dollars in two weeks time, I can’t imagine a better time for a pirate related thing.
With that said we’ve got this, Destiny’s Hand from Seven Seas to check out.
But maybe it’s not just the fact that it’s a good year for a pirate title to come out as much as it’s also a good year for AmeriManga titles to come out. Before this year I hadn’t been blown away with the line-up of AmerManga available, but once I got ahold of last year’s Dramacon (TOKYOPOP), and now the new batch of titles this year I’m beginning to find that this year should be a good year for voting on Best AmeriManga of 2006. So far we have three titles worth talking about in this regard, starting with this title (of course), with the other two being TOKYOPOP’s Dramacon and Kat & Mouse.
I have a few more titles, by the way, on Seven Seas list to look over in the coming weeks, but for now let’s get to this one… Destiny’s Hand.
It is the age of piracy. In the new world it runs rampant, but even amongst the pirates there is honor… but that is slowly dying as the last of the honorable pirates are slowly fading away to be replaced by men who are more animal than human in their violent behavior. But, in this world, there is yet one man who is driven by honor in a world decaying into violence and darkness.
Meet Captain Sebastian Blaine, aka the Gentleman Pirate. On his ship, the Destiny’s Hand, he holds fair yet stern rule over the sea as the last of a dying breed of honor bound pirates. Maybe because of this, or something yet spoken, his ship is blessed with the protection of an angelic visage. This visage comes in the form of a beautiful female figurehead named Lady Kate (who is indeed based on a woman of flesh and blood whose ties to the Captain and ship shall be a tale of future telling), she whose figurehead cannot be removed from the bow of the Destiny’s Hand contains power keeps the ship from sinking even in darkest times. But for all her power she can only save the hull upon which she rests, the crew of flesh and blood that resides within her are not so blessed by her power despite the fact her spirit seems to generate a blessing of a different kind in them, giving them the will to carry on. This becomes clear as the story opens.
Three years ago her ship was boarded by the Destiny’s Hand. But instead of it being a downturn this event turned into a chance at her own destiny. Troubled by her impending arraigned marriage, young Olivia Soldana dreaded the topic of her future… until the day she bested one of the pirates of the Destiny’s Hand, and gained the trust of it’s Gentleman Pirate captain who made her part of his crew (even as her snob of a dud father disowned her). Now, with a new “Family” she set out onto the ocean as it claimed her and made it her destiny… and no, nothing perverted happened even if it’s rated T for Teen. That’s… cough… that’s something you’ll find over at Icarus Publishing… (cough)… yeah. (That’s why Captain assigned her a big powerful bodyguard anyway, to make sure nothing hentai occurs to her… that and the total guilt trip of if you harm her you‘re harming me so bugger off, which actually works).
But now (as the present day in terms of the title comes about) her destiny may drive her farther than she ever dared as her captain falls victim to one of the new breed of dark pirates, a despicable thing of a human being named Mulgrew (Captain of the foul abomination known as the Kraken… no, he’s not working for Davy Jones and didn’t make a cameo appearance in Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man’s Chest) who skewered his one good lung and put him on the disabled list headed towards Captain Nemo’s Nautalis right fast… but not before he completes a few unfinished tasks.
He was seeking a legendary item known as the Devil’s Eye, but as he is struck down he came to the realization that his hunt is a race against time with the wicked Mulgrew (who struck him down). If Mulgrew gains hold of the Devil’s Eye before the Destiny’s Hand, then there can only be suffering for many who stands in Mulgrew’s way (be it innocent or not).
But his unfinished tasks do not end there. To another end he sends Olivia (who is now one of those who he has entrusted with these task and the future of the Destiny’s Hand) to retrieve a scholar from the house of a local governor, whose own destiny crosses with the Captain’s in an unexpected way (or maybe expected if you think about it)…
As the story ends we’re at a cliffhanger moment, and we’re only just getting underway here!
The breakdown will mull over the rest of this pint of grog for you.
Destiny’s Hand Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
This is a damn good read. Once you start turning the pages you’ll appreciate how well written, finely drawn, and nicely done this title is. A good action drama yarn that should keep you reading from cover to cover.
And yes, while the back of the cover calls it a “rip-roaring adventure on the high seas in the vein of Pirates of the Caribbean” don’t be chased off by it if you don’t happen to be a Pirates fan.
Destiny’s Hand is NOT, repeat NOT a Pirates clone looking to ax some sea cred on the success of Pirates. Destiny’s Hand stands on it’s own merits as a read worthy of it’s own praise, and it’s own readers who are looking for a pirates title that is both action and drama at the same time (with lovable characters you’ll get to know and finely crafted substance in both the writing and art dept).
Destiny’s Hand is a worthy part of your collection, and another reason why this year’s AmeriManga line-up is looking better and better by the review.
What’s Not?
The insufferably long wait for the second volume. Is it me or are a lot of these AmeriMangas making you wait and wait and wait for their next release! I forgot when this one’s Volume 2 is slated to release, but I do know it’s 50/50 odds that you’ll see this AT LEAST in time for Pirates of the Caribbean : Dead Man’s Chest DVD release… at least.
I don’t know but I’m kinda fussy about having to wait so darn long for my next fix… but I guess it gives me something to look forward to, if nothing else.
Moments to Remember?
Quite abit, and I implore you to snag up a copy to see how good it is.
What to Ignore?
The whole “Pirates of the Caribbean” tie in? I know everyone is doing it, but doesn’t this title earn enough cred on it’s own to stand on it’s own? Still, I guess if you ARE a Pirates of the Caribbean fan then snagging up Destiny’s Hand is on your short list of to do things because it IS worthy of your collection (regardless of whether you are flying the banner of Disney’s Pirates of the Caribbean, Sid Meyer’s Pirates or some other Pirate related franchise).
Overall?
A worthy read that adds to the good AmeriManga reads out this year, as well as a good read if you are looking for another Pirates fix to keep you going. If you can? Go check this out…
(Adam Sessler accent) A four… out of five.
NOTE - This is not the only retro past title Seven Seas has up it’s sleeve for you. In the coming weeks I’m going to have a review of another of these titles, Captain Nemo V. 1, for you so stay tuned for that.

Manga Fans Unite! Desert Coral GN 1

2010-09-12T06:07:00.002-07:00

Studio - ADVManga
Age - All Ages
By Wataru Muruyama
ADV Manga Staff
Translator - Tomoe Spencer
Lead Translator/Translator Supervisor - Javier Lopez
ADV Manga Translation Staff - Kay Bertrand, Amy Forsyth, Brendan Frayne & Eiko McGregor
Publishing Editor - Susan Itin
Assistant Editor - Margaret Scharold
Graphic Novel 1
(Yes, that's "coral" as in the stuff from the ocean, and not "corral" as in horse corral.)
Wasting away one's life dreaming is not a good thing, even if the dream happens to be a good one.
So good in fact that it might in fact be a real flesh and blood world.
But is it? That is the question posed as we meet one Naoto Saki.
It seems that he's got vivid daydreams of this strange desert world, but it is really dream -- or alternate reality? When he finds himself summoned into his "Dream world" and finds he can now experience all too real pain and bleed all too real blood? Looks like the lines between dream and reality have just been erased!
He hops back and forth between reality and dream, but his "dream" world seems to take all the time and we barely see his "real" life at all. Worst is that all he does in this new world is whine... and whine A LOT!
I don't know but somehow when I figure he'd be a reluctant hero I didn't think he'd be THAT reluctant!
And the cast of characters he's with are not exactly the most endearing or lovable cast I ever seen.
There's not much about them that really grabs you and makes you want to read their adventures... in fact unless this title gets a character infusion bounce next time out I'm going to have even less to say!
It has promise, and some possibilities, but for now I want to see more before I judge this world one way or another.
Desert Coral Breakdown the 1st
What's Hot? There's possibilities, and at times I see a good read in the making if only it went this way, or improves that way.
What's Not? With a VERY VERY reluctant hero, a cast that has yet to stand out and be unique, and a pacing that needs a bit of an umph we have promise, yet we have a large abyss that the title can fall into.
One way or another I'm hoping Graphic Novel 2 answers it all, and points to a direction.
Moments to Remember? It has moments, and promise that it can become a stronger read.
What to Ignore? Our so called hero seems to whine a great deal -- when he finally stops whining it gets good. The secondary cast has potential, but it also has the potential to turn readers off and drive them away.
And not enough is done about his "life" in the real world. He seems to want to escape too often for my taste, so there's no balance in that area at all.
Overall? I'm 50/50 here, and want to see more before I judge. Look, there is potential for this to become great and there's potential for this to become mediocre and a forgettable read. One way, or another, we're about to find out. But there is potential, and also appeal in some areas that might attract you. Give it a shot with an open mind, and see how it grabs you. That is, after all, the important thing right? How you react to it. So give it a shot and see what you think.

The Darkness Ultimate Collection

2010-09-12T06:07:00.000-07:00

I must admit, ever since first reading Spawn somewhere during the height of its popularity, I never really took to Image comics. Yes, the McFarlane-led, computer coloured artwork was undoubtedly slick, but for some reason it just didn’t grab me. I wanted to like them, I tried to like them…yet I just couldn’t like them. And the more I read, the less convinced I became. So I kinda gave up on Image and figured they just weren’t for me. Fast forward a few years, Top Cow split from Image and take Witchblade with them, which soon becomes almost as popular as Spawn with its own TV series (and even an anime!), yet still I can’t generate enough interest in these characters to really care much.
Which should make me a good critic of these comics, at least in theory. But after reading Top Cow’s compendium of Witchblade sister story The Darkness, I feel more foolish admitting the above.
That said, the first story in the 'Ultimate Collection’ of The Darkness does little to challenge my opinions back when I first read Spawn. Penned by Garth Ennis, this is a classic genesis tale and a fairly good introduction the character of Jackie Estacado, the top mob hitman who finds himself cursed with a dark power on his 21st birthday. Full of witty one liners and funny dialogue, it’s fairly typical of Ennis in that respect. The dark themes are still in keeping with Top Cow’s Witchblade universe, and the story which involves plenty of angels, devils and talk of the apocalypse is par for the course also. It’s a fun read thanks to Ennis’ injection of light-hearted humour, but in reality it does nothing to change my opinion Image or Top Cow.
The second story, however, fares much better. Originally appearing some 40-odd issues after Ennis’ original during the second volume of the comic (the first volume is also available in one massive tome from Top Cow) and written by Paul Jenkins (who you may know had a hand in the videogame adaptation, review linked above), this is a story which has a very different atmosphere to the first. Although there’s still a few jokes now and again to lighten the tone, the emphasis has moved very much from the battle between light and dark to the more down to earth fued between Jackie and his mobster ‘family’. As it turns out, Jackie ratted on his mob boss and now his ‘dear uncle’ Frankie is out for revenge. Which would be a pretty stupid thing to do considering Jackie can summon bloodthirsty demons at will, but Frankie and his newly instated cousin Paulie aren’t entirely unaware of this fact and begin to use it their advantage.
It’s a smart twist on the character’s usual heaven and hell theatrics and takes as much from The Sopranos as it does the bible (actually, The Sopranos even gets a quick mention, one character noting that they’re starting to feel like cliché’s right out of the TV series). And Jackie as a character gets a lot more attention, his struggle between the dark powers that urge him to kill and trying to be a good person and do the right thing are brought to the fore as he’s thrown in to a moral dilemma.
Apart from the manic Paulie who’s very much in the Joe Pesci in Goodfellas mould, secondary characters aren’t given much panel space, as much of the dialogue is spent on Jackie’s brooding monologues. These give the comic a film noir-esque feel not dissimilar to Frank Miller’s Sin City, which is either a good or bad thing depending on your tastes. I’d err towards the good personally. I think it suits the New York mob setting perfectly, something which was captured very well in the videogame too.
And a review of The Darkness wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the excellent artwork on show. The first story is very much typical of Image/Top Cow comics of the time, sporting the kind of oddly soulless computer coloured artwork that turned me off in the first place. You know, it’s all very slick and all but there’s just something about it I never quite liked. Still, the second story more than makes up for it with some beautifully hand coloured (actually, I’m not even sure if it is hand coloured, though if it’s not they’ve certainly improved their techniques over the years…looks great at any rate) artwork that changes style every few pages. It might seem odd at first, but it really works well.
So, it’s a comic of two halves. Luckily the second more than makes up for the first. This doesn’t quite make me want to go back and catch up on all that stuff I’d missed, but it does make me want to keep an eye on Top Cow in the future.

Dark Edge Volume 7

2010-09-12T06:06:00.001-07:00

Shimizu is busted up pretty badly from the events of last volume, but thanks to Nurse Fukaya’s healing power she’ll pull through.
Kurou, buried in a coffin on school grounds last Volume, is released much to the contrary plans of the Nosferatu. Due to his “resurrection” the ambitions of the Nosfertu teachers are now trash bin material (as this whole incident was meant to separate Kurou and Sumie, which has now obviously failed), with only the Principal somehow managing to find the silver lining in this little resurrection incident (especially seeing how he’s got plans to lure Mao into another scheme.
After that things begin to go down the rabbit hole fast as we find death, dismemberment, forced imprisonment, violence and a looming cliffhanger which should make more sense next review once I give you a full dissection of this volume and relate it to next… which is my main problem with this title.
Reader friendly it ain’t. Expect to invest heavily to get in on this title because you’ll need every volume to know what is really going on with the read. Miss a volume and you’ll miss a step, and without any comprehensive glossary of events or a title that is user friendly enough to keep you in the loop of what you’re reading it’s a bit daunting to catch up so late in the game on the goings on of Dark Edge. And if that was the title’s only concern I’d stop there, but it isn’t.
Dark Edge as a horror title is a bit above, but it’s not perfect.
If it’s horror I’m not feeling it. It’s got abit of guts and gore and dark violence but I’m not particularly feeling unnerved by it all. It’s got abit of the dark side to it but I’m not particularly feeling the unease I did with past horror title reviews (from the stuff that really creeps you out to a major eeww factor if you’re like me, and not too much into the whole horror genre).
Overall this is a long term investment, read the first volume (see if you like it), then get ready to put down some serious change to get up to speed on the volumes and where we are now (if there was ever a title DRMaster needs to put into an Omnibus collection this is one of them)!
Hmm… scoring wise… a 3 out of 5.
Lost of points due to it’s inaccessibility and a lacking creepy (bleep) factor, but it’s far better than some of the… OH NOW I REMEMBER! The last horror title I reviewed was Final Girl… didn’t like that, no, you’ll like this far better than Final Girl. Yes you will (at least that much I know is true).
(Want to see more? Check out www.drmasterbooks.com for the latest reads!)

Danger Girls #1-#2

2010-09-12T06:05:00.003-07:00

People are transforming into strange creatures for no reason.
This, a dark plot to interfere with human development is being schemed resulting in freedom being lost to these insidious invaders who hide amongst us, is just the first phase of a dark master plan.
Evil is afoot, but a group of the same aliens plotting world domination have formed their own organization bent on stopping them. An organization that pits alien brother against brother, father against son… Elvis Vs. Elvis… that’s right. The aliens are… all Elvis. Thankyou… thank you very much.
The world of Dirty Pair clone franchise series takes a bizarre turn down the rabbit hole in John Malkovich’s head as we open up this little known series (compared by some as a Dirty Pair clone without actually being a Dirty Pair clone) called Danger Girls, which is this year celebrating it’s 10th Anniversary (in continued obscurity).
If you remember the title you probably remember a certain Scott Campbell (or whatever his name was) and his whole short lived fan service laden Danger Girl franchise, which was much on the pomp and little on the circumstance. Danger GirlS, pural, is not like the franchised former Image title Danger Girl (singular) as the title is more parody sci-fi than fan service drowned inept spy vs. spy yarn, which makes it charming if abit dated in it’s visual presentation.
While Danger Girls, a title by Chris Troutt and Gregory Lane, will not break any visual records (for it’s day and age of 1996) it does have a personal spunk that made it worth recommending, even if it lasted only two issues and went defunct soon after Issue #2... Just don’t expect to find any copies as this is rarer than a set of mint condition Small Favors issues… ah, yeah, I’d love to find that series… yeah.
Also the title has abit of punch with a ton of cameo appearances from lots and lots of famous (and some not so famous faces). For example of cameos…
- Beavis & Butthead are seen working the local burger establishment cash register at the start of Issue #1.
- Somebody riding one of those transformable bikes from Mospeda (aka Robotech Season 3) can be seen on Page 13 of Issue #1.
- Next page that glasses wearing guy from Macross (Robotech Season 1) shows up.
- Ryoko (Tenchi Muyo) shows up in Issue #2 (Page 2)
- Also there’s an appearance by Captain Harlock, as well as Darth Vader, Grand Moff Tarkin, Qwark and Odo from ST:DS9 (worth noting since this is the 40th Anniversary of Classic Trek) and so on.
And so on, and so forth.
The story is simple. It’s Elvis vs. Elvis alien grudge match as the evil Elvis plans to bring glory to momma by taking control of the Earth, but they’ll be all shook up and locked away for the Jailhouse Rock as they must contend with Mr. E(lvis) and his dogooding Elvises, and his two female agents Jojo and Kim, who wear a familiar looking costume design variant, live in a world of sci-fi parody, and have strange personalities.
In the first issue you meet them, and their mysterious leader Mr. E (and get the 4-1-1 on their mission). But almost to the end of Issue #1 Kim is possessed by an evil Elvis.
Issue #2 Kim manages to free herself from the Evil Elvis, and her/Jojo end up going to a space station in orbit where they have to confront a fellow Danger Girl under the power of the evil Elvises (leaving off at a cliffhanger that has never been resolved to date since the series ended so long ago).
That, by the way, is the bad thing about the series. With only two issues the story was supposed to go farther but grinds to a halt in the middle of a storyline that is never resolved. Will the evil Elvises plan succeed as they prepare to play their evil musical score of conquest? Will the evil Elvis’ plot to use their evil Danger Girl to lure the good ones away from the station under siege (part of the Evil Elvises plan) work? Will Mr. E and his lovely ladies be able to stop the Evil Elvis plot once and for all?
I wanted to ask Bruce Campbell (known at one point to be the Elvis) about his thoughts on the evil of Evil alien Elvises, and mainly for his take on being Elvis, but he didn’t answer my e-mails… nor did I send any. Really, he does respond to e-mails though which is so nice of him (thank you for being so friendly to us little people). I was, then, going to bring in Roger, the Stan Lee Experience (who is not Stan Lee but an entirely inaccurate simulation)… then I remembered he’s a prop from X-Play, and I totally hate that character anyway so, well, who cares. So let’s just wrap it up here with the breakdown.
Danger Girls Breakdown
What’s Hot?
Well, it’s (strictly as a nostalgia piece) an interesting chapter in the lifespan of Dirty Pair inspired literature. Not much of it is worth mentioning, mind you, but as far as series goes it’s a nice one.
What’s Not?
Good luck finding this though. If Mr. Lane or Mr. Troutt are still in the industry (or still have this in their records), I’d like to compel them to take it to someone like “comixpress” and reprint the series as a Graphic Novel after so many years of it being defunct. Or at least just tell me if there’s a graphic novel sitting around somewhere of this that people can still get their hands on.
Moments to Remember?
Think the above said it all.
What to Ignore?
Ten years have passed, and despite earlier mention by Mr. Lane (years ago) of wanting to maybe revive the series (with a new title, Dynamo Girls) the series seemingly never saw the light of day ever again past Issue #2, which is a shame… though I guess something to ignore since nothing can be done of it.
Overall?
Probably more as a review to make you better informed as to promote, this series is a rarer quality to find than copies of Small Favors, but if you’re out there Gregory Lane and Chris Troutt I do beg you to take this and reintroduce it once again for people to check out. And, as if to compel them, let’s give this a score.
In hopes of a revival (or maybe just them selling me the franchise so I can revive it)… I’m going to give the old school flavor of long forgotten Dirty Pair “clone” Danger Girls (plural) a four… out of 5.

Cromartie High School V. 1

2010-09-12T06:05:00.001-07:00

Can this book do with an all male cast what Azumanga Daioh did for it's all female cast? Probably not but let's take a look at it in anycase. Let's face it, comedic school dramas just seem to pale a little post Azumanga Daioh. After this imaginative, excellently done slice of life read came out other titles set in school with humor just doesn't seem to measure up to the high bar set by the creator of Azumanga Daioh and his excellent mini series. All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku, for one, is substance less "humor" that relentlessly repeats the same gags over and over again... even if it should know better.
How about this title? Cromartie High School? How does that fare?
Welcome to Cromartie High School... aka Underachiever High.
Filled with more unsavory characters than a bad Survivor reunion, we find ourselves amongst characters who'll either remind you of punks from other series... or remind you why you were never really all that fond of your High School days even when you were going to High School! Filled with the most dysfunctional cast I've ever seen, and including some characters you probably wouldn't have expected (including a rather out of place older guy who looks like he's a leftover character from an old school Chuck Norris action movie, an intellectually superior ape, a different kind of rich guy who apparently went to the wrong school and is now stuck there, and a non-human robot who seems to pass off quite well as a "human" amongst his lesser classmates) this is one class you probably will never forget... even if you tried.
So the class is not something you'd expect, or ever seen before in some cases, but how's the humor?
Once again, like Noodle Fighter Miki, it's not laught out loud humor... for me. Yes, you might (in fact) have a quite different experience and find this to be quite pleasing to own! So you shouldn't take my word for it in situations like this since you might enjoy the humor more than I did. But for my part in this review I have to say that this book did get some smirks and chuckles out of me, so that has to be good.
Yes, it's no Azumanga Daioh but it does have merit. So much so that this title has a sleeper hit quality to it, from my POV. With promise, a strange cast which shows that promise proudly, and some interesting writing elements that made me smile from time to time, this title might not be the next Azumanga Daioh but it has it's own merits which makes it something you should consider!
And hey, it's Japan's new #1 comedy and it won the Kodansha Manga Award! Those two kudos have got to show the title's ability to be a title worth your time and consideration!
When it comes right down to it this title has definite possibilities, and will stand out in a class all it's own as a read that demands (under threat of violence or something else) your attention and, at the very least, your consideration for a place in your permanent collection for this 9 book series.
Consider this an offer you shouldn't refuse, at least until you read it and decided on it yourself.
Breakdown time!
Cromartie High School Breakdown the 1st
What's Hot? - Hmm... hard one. It'll never overcome Azumanga Daioh in terms of popularity in my book, but it stands in a class all it's own which is something worth considering if you're courting the idea of adding this book to your collection. Yes, I think it's worth your time to check out.
I thought it was fairly written, and I even broke a smile at some of the stuff going on in here! With a nicely done writing style, and a fair artistic flair, it's a title that earned respect in Japan (and deserves a little bit of the same here)! It's not my favorite read, but it deserves attention and a chance... which I gave it, and found myself approving of it. Guess I'll be back in the future for more reviews! Count on it!
What's Not? - At first I thought I would disapprove of the title, but now that I think of it? I find myself in approval of it. At first you don't know what to make of it, but as you read it and read it the title kind of grows on you... like a bad social virus or the plague... and you want to read more of it.
So, again, while it's not my favorite it is one of my reads which I say deserves consideration for your collection. So give it a shot, and see if you'll find merit in it like I did. I bet you will.
Moments to Remember? - Some of the stuff in here is good. You'll see. Best not to spoil the moment though, so I'll keep the specifics to myself... the mechanical guy steals the show sometimes, and that's the only hint I'll give to one of the batch of memorables about this title.
What to Ignore? - Nothing. It's actually a solid read so there's nothing bad about it.
Overall? - Who would have thought a title like this could be so appealing? But apparently it is!
While I am not a die hard fan of the title I do see the good merits in it, and recommend it from me to you. Considering it won the Kodansha Manga Award, and is Japan's #1 comedy? That's gotta be tough enough!

Crimson Hero V. 1

2010-09-12T06:04:00.003-07:00

When it comes to sports related titles I am not the biggest fan of the genre.
I am not excited by the thought of reviewing sports related video games. I am not the most thrilled of individuals when it comes to sports related titles, though I do have a few on my reviewing plate that I am going to look over soon like Hoop Days and Princess Nine for starters.
In short (I know, too late) I am not the sports title type of reviewer, and yet here I am reviewing Crimson Hero from VIZ (your taste of female volleyball action). Why am I reviewing Crimson Hero? Because it is one of a few titles from a certain VIZ anthology title I am hyped about.
That title? That would be the continousouly reviewed Shojo Beat, which I review monthly. The points of interest being my favorite reads known as Crimson Hero (this) and Nana (and Aishiteruze Baby which I am talking about in my Shojo Beat V. 2, Issue #3 review).
Yeah, for a sports related title it has gotten me at the first time I saw this which held me tight and solid, which is why I’ll tell you why you’ll find much to love about Mitsuba Takanashi’s Crimson Hero!
Meet Nobara Sumiyoshi (age 15), but don’t get too close because she’s barely into the first chapter of the book and already she’s suffering from a case of a bad day. Her family seems to run an old fashioned Japanese restaurant, and they have these high ambitions for Nobara to inherit the role of “young mistress” over at the family biz, which burns Nobara right up and she wants nothing to do with it.
She has no degree of “feminine” self, and being the “young mistress” of the family biz is something she feels is a thing her younger (more petite and feminine) younger sister would be better at… but then again if Nobara is so hellbent against the job considering it a nasty affair smoozing up to middle aged men and women like some hostess bar then why the hell would she wish to hoist that on her little sister… sheesh!
Anyway first the difficulties prior to the meltdown.
She has enrolled in Crimson Field, a school with an aces volleyball team… only it’s the MALE team that is aces, the female team has fallen apart and disintergrated. Worse, it looks like Nobara’s mom is hellbent to make sure the girls’ volleyball team never rises again by funneling money into the school to keep it dead.
That’s when Nobara attempts to try it her mom’s way for a compromise, but things fall apart fast and she runs away from home ending up as the new “den mom” of the boy’s volleyball team.
But this is just one step towards the resurrection of the girls’ volleyball team, which will one day (and one Graphic Novel) rise from the ashes and be reborn. This is the first step, next Graphic Novel will be step two and the imminent return of the girls’ team… be there.
Ok, time for breakdown because you know you want to.
Crimson Hero Breakdown the 1st
What’s Hot?
When I first saw Crimson Hero in Shojo Beat I was not a fan of many of the sports themed titles, yes, but that changed when it came to Crimson Hero because once I got into it I found it a habit I had to continue. A solid intense read that really gets you going, you’ll find yourself falling for Takanashi’s volleyball slammer like nobody’s business which is a good thing since this is a good solid read worth getting into.
Mitsuba Takanashi is on top of her game with Crimson Hero, finding a convert to her way of sports shoujo that sells itself to it’s readers, including this sports naysayer who usually doesn’t have much nice to say about sports related titles. And, really, if a not so sports friendly reviewer like me can become so entranced by Crimson Hero you should be as similarly entranced once you get ahold of this and really get into it.
A solid, intense, beautiful fun and gripping read. A title for you even if you are not the most outgoing fan of volleyball or sports manga in general.
What’s Not?
I really can’t think of a thing that is wrong about this title. Really. No, not me.
Moments to Remember?
Once again it’s another one of those well rounded and well shaped reads that is memorable as a whole, just so you know. Cool. This is cool. Nuff said.
What to Ignore?
(blank stare)… eh? What is there to ignore? Well… actually me, because I’m about to rant.
Why is it you NEVER EVER EVER EVER see a Sports themed video game based on titles like Crimson Hero anyway? Like Princess Nine given the EA Sports MLB treatment, or Hoop Days meets 2KSports’ NBA franchise. Something like that. Can’t somebody make a Sports video game that ties into a sports title like this which can actually be fun and interesting to play? How hard can it… oh, wait, most titles based on TV Series (Anime or Live Action) usually end up sucking so I can see why it’d be so hard. Never mind.
Overall?
Crimson Hero is, in my opinion, a rare gem of a read in the Sports related genre theme of titles that is worth looking into , and worth picking up. Fans of volleyball will want to check this out. Non fans of volleyball should be able to get into this because this is about more than just volleyball, though volleyball is the lifeblood of Nobara and the other girls of the team. A solid recommendable read, worth your time and effort to check out ASAP. Check it out, you’ll be glad you did.

Coyote Ragtime Show Volume 1

2010-09-12T06:04:00.001-07:00

Welcome to the Planet Graceland.
Neither founded by, discovered by, nor sung about in a song by the King (Elvis), Planet Graceland used to be this beautiful serene paradise… then people moved in and things went downhill from there.
Almost the poster child of eco-knobbers reasonings about people being bad for nature, Planet Graceland has devolved into the butthole of the universe, a place where constant planetary civil war threatens to spill outwards into the very universe blighting world after world after world.
Well, at least that’s the byline the Milky Way Federation is going with when they first justify their halfarsed handling of the Graceland problem (if they even bothered to do anything about it), then to justify why an entire planet must die. Yes, apparently run by Bush 2175, the Milky Way Federation has deemed the planet Graceland must be vaporized by a Photon Bomb in 7 days (to keep the violence from spreading past the planetary atmosphere and all that). So then, problem solved right? Not so fast.
So what does the problems of universal order have to do with a felon named Mister, presently due for parole from prison in 10 days? Not much, except for the fact that 10 days is 3 days too late for Mister to handle certain business on the Planet Graceland. Business that, yes, doesn’t include attending the Elvis Film Festival or dressing up as Blue Hawaii Elvis at ElvisCon. It seems he has been left a ward in one young Franca (the daughter of Pirate King Blues). This “Pirate King” (isn’t that supposed to be “Space Pirate King”?) has (before his untimely “retirement”) stolen 10 billion space dollars and hid it on Planet Graceland. This is the “legacy” of the Pirate King to his daughter, and thus it falls on Mister’s hefty beefy shoulders to carry out the uncovering of the treasure for Franca. To this end his Coyotes have come to prison to break Mister out early… no problem, right?
Well besides the twin female detectives (one smart, one rookie) who will no doubt dog the group from prison to Graceland, there is also the wee matter of a certain person who has a major grudge with Mister. This woman, a member of the Criminal Guild named Madame Marciano, has sent her 12 Sisters (hot female botgirls named after the 12 months of the Gregorian calendar) to fetch Mister and bring him to her. Obviously, being on a deadline and all, he’s not the accommodating type which leads to a chase to Graceland (with the 12 Sisters hot on their trail). Why she is hellbent to get Mister? Only time (and more volumes) will tell, but she is apparently hellbent on it enough that she will even kill off her fellow Criminal Guild members in order to stop their nagging about her actions in regard to Mister. Sheesh.
Of course this isn’t enough problem for the title, oh no.
Apparently nobody bothered to tell Mister that Franca is not the happiest of campers with this idea of fetching the treasure, and thinks Mister is out to cut her out of her own “legacy” (more interested in the fortune than her). Maybe running away from the 12 Sisters and abit of time to brood things over will change her mind about it? Maybe. But even if she changes her mind and jumps in on the treasure hunting bandwagon there is still the matter about them having no idea where Blues hid the money.
Maybe an old right hand man of Blues knows… then again maybe that isn’t a good idea either.
Either way as the volume ends it’s a cliffhanger and we’re wondering what’s next for this little intrepid band with a soon to explode planet ahead and 12 hot robotic sisters (and 2 detectives of female persuasion) behind. Things are about to get hot on Graceland (and it’s not because they’re re-releasing the limited edition Peanut Butter Banana Bacon Griddle Sammich aka the good old PB3at McElvis).
Now before I am jointly attacked by Coyote Ragtime Show fans let me finish the whole sentence.
If I was just to judge the series by the manga I’d have to say that the series is… average.
It does it’s job, and if you are new to the franchise looking for a new sci-fi action drama to fill the gaps in your collection then Coyote Ragtime Show will fill that gap well in terms of the manga. I don’t know about the anime, but if critics are any indication it should be just as fulfilling as the manga.
That being said, however, there is nothing about the series (from what I read in the manga) that makes me jump up and down or get all excited over it. It’s average fare excitement, done well and drawn well, but the innovation factor of the title is… well… it’s not there. Meh.
Still it works, it fills the gap left behind by the end of other series of it’s genre, and if I had to list the titles I’d take with me to read while on the road this would be one of those going into my traveling bag to pass the time on (when I’m not reviewing PSP or Nintendo DS titles that is).
Let’s be positive and give this one 4 cute police detective couples out of 5, and look forward to what Volume 2 will bring in the near future.

Cowboy Bebop

2010-09-12T06:03:00.003-07:00

I'm probably not going to make many friends when I say this, but my favourite anime studio has to be Sunrise, way ahead of Gainax, Gonzo and the rest. Escaflowne, Gundam, Outlaw Star and many other series have come from this pool of artists, and they usually create some manga to accompany the anime release. Such is the case with Cowboy Bebop.
The story behind Cowboy Bebop must be known to nearly everyone who looks at this site, but, just in case. It's about a group of four bounty hunters, and a dog, who share a ship, and are generally a help or a hindrance to each other on their missions. By and large they succeed, but cause so much damage they get nothing, or fail in some poetic manner, or just have a general caper, or a mixture of all three. The scenario is just a foundation for their various episodic adventures, and the characters are very clearly defined, some may say stereotypically, but it's the right mix. You have an older man, who feels fatherly to the other hunters, you have the young cool male with a mysterious past, you have the sex-bomb who can't be trusted, and you have a young girl who is a computer whiz. When read like that it sounds so cliched, but the episodes are played out so well in the anime that you never quite analyse it in that way. Does that hold true for the manga?
Yutaka Nanten, who was involved with the anime, handles the artwork here, and it shows, with the visuals staying true to the TV series. In the static shots, the dialogue scenes, establishing frames, you could quite easily picture yourself in the anime. Seeing that it does try to be a faithful adaptation that's not a bad thing, but you do think it could have been pushed a bit further rather than just playing safe. The major problem occurs in the action sequences. A big positive for the anime is that it shows kinetics in fights and chases is a very balletic manor, with the point of view floating around, with as much movement as what's going on in the frame. I know that's not easy in manga, but what we are given here is two types of framing, static and static with go-faster lines all over it. Nanten alternates between the two with no middle ground, creating a very uneven pacing in the action based stories. Overall it's not really excellent, but I wouldn't say it was very poor either, just uninspiringly bog-standard average.
The story side is dealt with by Hajime Yatate, the same guy who did the story work for the anime. I say guy, but Hajime is actually a pseudonym for a pool of writers who work at Sunrise, and have come up with many of the other series produced by the studio. Shinichiro Watanabe, the director for the series, also cooperated with the writing. Again, the manga is comfortable wallowing in it's own security, with no boundaries really pushed. There are some funny stories, but nothing that gets close to Mushroom Samba in the anime series. No further light is shed on Spike Spiegel's dark history. There is no appearance for Vicious, one the best bad guys ever drawn on a cel. You can almost read this series as a collection of episodes never made, but then, not one of them jumps into my memory the way the anime episodes do. Also, the opportunity to create a story arc over a few episodes is eschewed for more of the same standalone riffs that Bebop fans are used to.
This is so difficult to call. From what you have read above you would say that I'm comparing too much to the anime and not letting the manga have a chance. I would argue converse to that. The only reason why I can't let rip at the manga is because I really love the anime. If this were a manga series, totally unconnected to any form of anime, I would have thrown away the first book after reading it and not bought more, bottom line. Only reason why I didn't is because it's a comfortable read for a Cowboy Bebop fan, because it fits so nicely into that universe, but I don't want to short change any neutral readers. If you like Cowboy Bebop definitely give this a try. If you hate Cowboy Bebop, or have never seen it, this really is a waste of money, and shouldn't be bothered with. It's a shame Sunrise have decided to play safe in these three volumes, rather than really push the envelope.
'Cowboy Bebop' was first published in 1999 in Japan. Tokyopop started publishing an English translation in 2002. It numbers only 3 volumes, with all of them currently available.
6/10

The Courageous Princess

2010-09-12T06:03:00.001-07:00

I honestly can’t remember back far enough to think of a time Hollywood created an animated movie that could rise to the same level of innovation, human heart and soul, and overall greatness of a Miyazaki movie. There are some great examples, just don’t expect me to wrack my brain and pull those examples up since it’s been too long between since they’ve been made and the writing of this review.
So, with that said, maybe Hollywood should pay attention to the works of a certain Mr. Rod Espinosa… again… and take a look at his work, The Courageous Princess (his Eisner Award Nominated title that has all the feel good qualities of a Miyazaki classic, with Mr. Espinosa’s own unique genius shining through from book to book).
Actually this will all be one review despite the fact it’s a three volume set because, well, it’s a thin three volume set. I was surprised the books were prestige format comics, I thought they’d be graphic novels ala Neotopia. Well, whatever, by now you can find the collected version of this title (all three of these volumes in one graphic novel format) so you’re covered in case you want to add this to your collection (which you should, yes, you should do that).
Split into three books, The Courageous Princess, CP : The Quest For Home and CP : The Kingdom of Leptia the story focuses on young Princess Mabelrose (and her journey to get back to her home after being abducted, but more on that in a sec.)
Once upon a time there was the Land of the Hundred Kingdoms.
Kingdoms of averageness, King’s Quest averageness, Guild Wars or World of Warcraft averageness, Elder Scrolls averageness (whoo! A Kingdom where Patrick Stewart resides!), and Kingdoms of fairy tale mystical quality live side by side in this many lands. Here, in a small kingdom of King’s Quest quality named New Tinsley (quick show of hands, who thinks there’s actually a great “How I Met Your Mother” King’s Quest style story here about how Mabelrose’s parents hooked up in this kingdom?) with a beloved King & Queen. This happy couple was beloved by their people, were kind and just rulers, lived modestly is a mid sized castle overlooking one of the major villages (and once hosted an entire season of the hit PBS TV Show “This Old Castle”), and yet… they wanted a child to complete their happiness.
Well, after time (and things which I can only talk about in the adult site I work for) they were blessed with the birth of a beautiful baby girl. After much wrangling and discussion over the child’s name (Mabel for Ma Belle, the queen’s beloved mom or Rose because of the young baby’s rosy cheeks) they decided on Mabelrose for her name.
The Princss grew up quickly, and became quite the inquisitive and curious child. She soon began to learn about growing things, sewing, and the state of the other Hundred Kingdoms (through stories of fanciful flight of fairy tale whimsy and heroic deeds of said kingdoms). She also was taken throughout the kingdom by her parents, and taught generosity (or perhaps it was always in her nature to be kind and generous) as she watched her parents work hard for their people (something certain leaders of the present day world need to learn for themselves).
She was never an obnoxious stuck up Princess (like that now rather deceased Princess from Neotopia, who died at the end of the first volume) and she made friends easily (and was thus easy to get along with). Overall she was a great Princess and everyone loved her… maybe that is why a certain greedy dragon one day came to steal her away.
It was in the aftermath of a particularly trying social event in a neighboring land that she was abducted by the Princess collecting dragon (only one Princess at a time as most other Princesses who were not Mabelrose were high maintenance property), and spirited off to his fortress far far away in a distant land.
Despite the charm of the dragon it soon became apart that it was a dragon of the stalker boyfriend mentality (why yes, apparently even dragons can be stalker boyfriends even if they tend to stalk the opposite sex that is not their own species). She was bathed daily by the dragon’s invisible servants, dressed as the dragon wanted her dressed (because as dragons goes she was really and truly the size of a Barbie doll in comparison to the dragon… hmm… dragon has some personal issues if it’s still collecting “dolls” -- too bad it ate Dr. Phil when he came by the castle for a princess intervention), and basically commanded how she would live in his castle. Of course eventually she got to wanting to return home and eventually found a way to escape.
The dragon, being the stalker boyfriend type, naturally went in pursuit of her, and it is during her escape that she met her traveling companion for the rest of the book (the talking porcupine named Spikey).
As Volume 2 starts we see Mabelrose’s dad on a King’s Quest style journey across the kingdoms to find his daughter, reporting back home as to progress as he went along. Apparently nobody figured out the dragon angle (or the dragon was not well known) as the father seems to search with only spotty clues to her whereabouts. In the meantime Mabelrose, with her new companion Spiky, are still on the run from the dragon (which will be a constant threat throughout the book).
While on the run the two begin to bond as pals, but that is soon threatened when a particularly harrowing escape from the dragon’s chief hunter (a particularly nasty wolf under the dragon’s control) puts Mabelrose into danger (requiring the help of a kindly family, part of a community of people in the village of Munken). With their help the Princess is saved and she is once again put on the road home. And, as a side note, to add to the good feeling ometer, they then proceed to wipe out an entire army of the dragon’s own trolls who came seeking the Princess! Entirely self defense! Who told those trolls to bring their siege machines and attempt to reinact the Battle for Helm’s Deep!
At the end the Princess saves the life of a talking warthog… oh, look! It’s Pumbaa!
(This works out as this kind act comes back to help her in the third volume).
And finally in the third volume Mabelrose and Spiky are helped by a community of talking animal/people only to realize that they are the ones who need help as they are under the cruel rule of an evil tiger-man whose relative is the rightful ruler of the land. He has the Princess captured and forced to serve him in the rightful king’s palace, all the while planning to give Mabelrose back to the dragon that has been pursuing her. Somehow, however, she has to manage to set herself free and free the kingdom she’s in from under the tyrannical rule of this evil “king”, as well as stop the pursuing dragon once and for all. The series ends with an epic finale, and… well, like The Crying Game’s ads of long past we cannot reveal the secrets of the ending of The Courageous Princess though I can tell you one thing… yes, Mabelrose is a girl. She’s not a guy in drag.
If Senior Miyazaki (or his new Director son who just did Tales of the Earthsea) happen to be looking for the next great movie idea? You can’t go wrong here. Once again Rod Espinosa proves his mettle in this, one of his more classic works, which has that beautiful wondrous air of creativity, innovation and beauty that we haven’t seen much of outside of the works of Miyazaki himself. Beautifully drawn, splendidly written, and lovely from beginning to end, the title is truly worthy of it’s Eisner Nominated status… why it didn’t WIN I’ll never understand, but whatever.
The Courageous Princess is a joy, one you should have in your collection without a shadow of a doubt. Be you a fan of Espinosa’s work, a fan of great storytelling, or just a fan of Antarctic Press and it’s creative pool of talents, you’ll find many good reasons to go out and buy that collected volume version of this story.
Now if only Espinosa would go back to the drawing board and pen the sequel!
You left the story unfinished, man! Finish it!!
Courageous Princess gets 5 Golden Spiky Awards out of 5.

Couplers Volume 1 to 2

2010-09-12T06:02:00.001-07:00

When I first saw the cover to this (at www.bookmooch.com) I thought it was a title about Collectible Monster Battling, or Virtual Reality Fighting… all they had were the covers and nothing in the way of descriptions about what the titles were. Well, it’s review time and now I find out the title is a generational sci-fi title that promotes itself as a Space Opera… and while that’s all well and good you are about to find out that in space nobody will remind you to not forget the little things that make Space Operas great.
Couplers, named after the technology that allows humans to operate tech (from simple winged hoverpacks to complex mechs), takes place in the Year -- something.
Meet Dawn Spinward. She and her friends who live in a rustic Middle Ages style old countryside seem to be on a trip. Now at this point you think they’re being taken to the local Hogwarts to be trained as DragonRiders, or Spellcasters or Guardians. Young people being prepared to defend their homeland from marauding monsters or whatnot. Turns out the “world” of the Colony is a strange mix of the tech and non-tech, where a majority of the people live in a rustic old world environment while the few (who do the grunt work of the day to day operation of the massive Colony ship) live in a more futuristic setting. Life aboard the Colony is simple and consistent, but moreso from a lack of resource planning than a real desire to live the simple life.
And thus almost out the starting gate the title’s flaws begin to hit you in the face like a mad Eva Gabor cussing out a California traffic cop. What? A slowness ticket!? How dare you say my narrative is going below the speed limit! SMACK!!
So how did the Colony came to be? What world shattering events led to it’s creation and launch? And why (oh why) did the people planning the ship not actually plan better to include a route that allowed for passing by worlds for resource gathering… in fact why wasn’t resource gathering even considered in the creation of the Colony ship? Those are things we will either never know or will have to wait for a future volume to find out as it seems the creative team behind the title didn’t actually take the time to flesh out these story elements and just jumped right into the cosmic adventures of Dawn Spinward and her four cycle tour of duty as a Colony Tech Corps member.
Speaking of things that seem to smack you about (like Don Imus getting a thousand and one verbal smackings from the general public over his bad choice of words that one time) uh… quick comparison here.
Luke Skywalker (beloved icon of Space Opera lore). He wanted to go into space, and put his dislike of the Empire and his passion to avenge his Aunt/Uncle (amongst other things) to join the Rebel Alliance.
Dawn Spinward. She kinda has dreams of advancing herself, but she’s just being recruited into the Tech Corps because it’s mandatory at her age and four cycles from now she can just up and quit and go home… yeah, some motivator there.
It’s not that I’m questioning our heroine’s motivations (which it seems I may be doing) but… where’s the real motivation if she’s EXPECTED to join?!? It’s not like she went out on a limb, defied her parents, and joined because of some great motivational cause or personal belief or something! She had to attend, attendance mandatory, so here she is. End of story, good bye, nuff said, close the door and read on.
Somehow she manages to become “co-Captain” of the class of cadets with her soon to be partner slash rival Adam (the reckless part of what may become a romantic entanglement -- which is the next logical step in a title that keeps missing the little steps in it’s progression from Point A to B to C and so forth). But soon (after a few pages of training) they are taken up to the surface and world and shown… in anticlimactic fashion since EVERYONE seems to already know about them… the R.A.T.!
You know what? I would have been far more impressed if the elders of the Colony worked hard to keep the Colony clueless to the existence of the R.A.T. (a seemingly Borg like biotechnological species), and then this scene at the end of Volume 1 would have had more impact (as they see the enemy truly for the first time and grasp the threat against them). But they seem to know of the R.A.T. already, and the “threat” is not much as it seems the R.A.T. hasn’t been seen in a hundred cycles since this first exploratory R.A.T. made Colony fall way back when.
Volume 2, however, changes all that as an attempt to throw a party for the beloved older member of the story (as he changes vocations and careers) goes awry when he is out on patrol (mostly to avoid his own party) when he stumbles across a large patrol of R.A.T… odd, though, as the title harps on and on about how the R.A.T. are out to destroy all they are (in fact) rather like the Borg in that (despite a bit of flash and bang laser fire) seem more interested in doing their own thing than really interacting with the Colony (or attacking it despite the notation to the otherwise on the teaser on the back of the book).
Of course this book talks of a deep space discovery threatening to forever alter the ship’s future (and all life aboard it)… HOWEVER (and this is no teaser because there is no teaser to be had) you’ll be hard pressed to understand the life altering discovery because even I don’t get it. But let’s recap…
Apparently upon a close look of a R.A.T. ship our older commander (Malak) discovers something… but you are not exactly sure what. I’m going to guess the R.A.T. is a technology created by very humanoid hands (which may or may not be the same humans as those on the Colony)… that is the only “shocking” revelation that could come from this discovery that came to my mind, though only Couplers 3 & 4 can answer that.
A more important (yet no less vague) revelation comes from Dawn’s grandfather, who has a out of body experience while suffering from medical problems (though he’s OK by the end of the Volume… just as well since he has abit to say about his experience next Volume) who “dreams” of an alien world that may be the long fabled “New World” the Colony is headed to… and it is on this world he discovers… nothing. Or does he?
While the experience is vague and seemingly pointless there is one symbolism to note… the fact that the clouds that roll by in the sky above seem to resemble R.A.T. vessels. So then, does this mean the new homeworld of humanity is already inhabited by the R.A.T.? This would be bad, especially since the title takes time to note that the colony cannot change course or alter plans due to dwindling resources (it’s that New World or bust).
As far as titles goes it’s not the worst sci-fi, but it’s a long way from being epic.
Starting with the simplest things first. We should have had an introduction which explained why a Colony ship was necessary, an explanation of the old Homeworld and it’s present “disposition” would have been nice (and why not enough planning was done to cover acquisition of resources along the journey to the new “world”).
From there more buildup and abit more surprise for the revelation of the R.A.T.
Then abit of explanation of the R.A.T. and what they knew of the species (which seems to actually be next to nothing despite paranoid insistence that the R.A.T. are out to get them when, in fact, only one scouting drone attack does not a species wide conspiracy to destroy all life make).
How about characters? At least your bonding with the cast... right?
Unfortunately not. I'd like to say that the characters really synch with you, and the secondary cast is strong in their supporting role, but neither of those are true.
I should be bonding with Dawn as a character, yet somehow even in Volume 2 (and her "emotional" moments about her grandfather) she fails to synch as a lead character. Ditto with Adam who is just there to be Dawn's opposite than as a sounding board slash rival to Dawn's character (not even pulling his weight during the "emotional" scenes in Volume 2).
And as for the secondary cast? I am beginning to fear for Hits & Misses as this title proves to be the weakest of Realbuzz Studios' titles in terms of secondary cast development. They are there, they fill space and at times fulfill certain plot point requirements, but don't move past that (or even set themselves up as memorable secondary cast like the quite active and memorable cast of Goofyfoot Gurl, a 5 out of 5 title).
As for the bit of cliffhanger in info from Volume 2 I am sure Volume 3 will explore the revelations made here in more depth. Maybe.
Why the specific construct of the R.A.T. vessels are so important.
What the first look at the new “Homeworld” means, especially if it seems to be at the heart of R.A.T. space. And maybe somebody can reveal what was learned from the R.A.T.’s first crashed ship (maybe Coupler technology itself is inspired from the R.A.T.) and why more was not said of the R.A.T.
And finally, maybe the most telling, why are the Colony’s heads insistent on the R.A.T.’s threat when they have only once to date (from my interpretation of the read) shown possible violent attitudes towards the Colony, and why has no attempt to communicate with the R.A.T. and possibly “sue for peace” occurred since the R.A.T. first discovered the presence of the Colony ship (and vice versa) one hundred cycles ago?
With more questions than answers the title may be leading up to a grand revelation, but seeing how it has missed several cues to reveal even the most simple of detail in these two volumes alone I have to wonder just how forthcoming the title will be in the future.
When it comes right down to it no matter how large the “forest” of this “epic Space Opera” envisioned by Team Coupler, they cannot lose sight of the seemingly insignificant “trees” that inhabit the forest forgetting the most simple of detail in the rush to create an epic “Space Opera“. That is why this title is not reaching it’s full potential, and why it is only getting an average 3 Big Picture People sized problems out of 5. (Let's hope the next release later this year includes Couplers 3 (and possbly 4) with some emphasis on revelation explanation and covering some of the details missed in these two volumes (Zero Hour and the launch of the Colony, why the Colony was not made with resource gathering to replenish slowly depleting resources in mind for a generational journey, who are the R.A.T. and what are their true intentions for the Colony, etc)).

Confidential Confession V. 2

2010-09-12T06:01:00.003-07:00

Ever read something that was down to Earth, real, and took a shot at you like a knife stab to the gut?
Chances are if you have, you might be reading Confidential Confessions. If not, now’s a good time. The series, a harsh glaring light at real problems facing people today (from a Japanese viewpoint) doesn’t promise a happy ending (though sometimes, like here, it’ll get at least to be a good ending) but it does promise to be the harshest slice of reality without being overdone to the point of uselessness. The previous book, the first one out, dealt with suicide and prostitution. This deals with sexual harassment.
That’s where Suzuki comes in. She’s attending an exclusive all-girls high school solely on the rep of their famous tennis coach who has everyone talking… too bad the real person is nothing like the image.
The guy is rude, obnoxious, and he likes to talk dirty to his girls and occasionally fondle his girls from time to time. And when he’s not talking dirty or feeling his girls up, he’s having them do inappropriate things like giving massages, and so forth. So is this something to get up in arms about? You betcha.
However, yes, if you’ve lived with an obsession like becoming the world’s greatest tennis star, or something like that, your ill reasoning side takes over… like with most of the girls. They all tell Suzuki to just accept it since they’re mostly spineless, thinking with their future pocketbooks rather than their present day brains. So what if the coach is pawing them up? You get the same on the subway system if you go on the wrong time (and not when they have women only cars available) so what’s the difference? The difference is you don’t have to see casual pawers everyday like you do this coach, and he should know better… much better.
At first she tows the line and says nothing, especially since the whole team is going to turn on her just to protect this jerk if she tells. So she doesn’t… until he forces her to strip naked and… well, that as they say is that and, like Popeye, she has had all that she can stand, and she can stand no more! She tells her parents, and it’s suddenly hunting season with the prey being a certain pervert coach.
So what happens next? Let’s just say the guy practically has to be dragged kicking and screaming (well, kicking in a way at the very least) into the light of the truth, and boy is the school she’s in so damn pathetic that they too practically have to be dragged along with him before they do the right thing! Sheesh!
Jerk offs! Do you NEED to be dragged with the loser right into the abyss before you do the right thing?! Dammit!! Oh, and on a sidebar note she also does something about that groping on subways thing.
Breakdown time, but in a good way.
Confidential Confessions Breakdown the 2nd
What’s Hot?
Confidential Confessions is a sharp blade in the TOKYOPOP “arsenal” that digs down and “taps” into some hot button topics, drawing blood and (hopefully) dialogue on these things. It’s unforgiving, and it’s realistic. It does it’s job and it does it well, and it shines a light on topics some may not be most comfortable talking about (either in schools or in society).
Don’t want to wait for a dialogue to “appear” on important topics like sexual harassment, drug abuse, rape and so forth? Start reading this and form your own opinion on the subjects as they are presented here. It’s something they should require students to read in high schools ‘cause it’s relevant, even if it is a manga series from Japan, it is relevant and something high school students should read.
This is one of a set of mangas that must be put into high schools, and something people should push for since only the ignorant would keep things of this importance out of schools.
What’s Not?
Hmmm… what, no “homophobia” discussions? Hmm… maybe somebody will approach that in manga soon. Hopefully soon, and hopefully in this series.
Moments to Remember?
It’s a memorable title, that’s all that needs to be said here.
What to Ignore?
Ignore the voices of ill reason. Those who say books like this don’t have a voice in modern debate, nor that books like this shouldn’t be in our schools due to it’s content. You know what? It does deserve to be there. This and a set of other books for it’s strength in topic, storytelling presentation, and it’s message that it delivers which cannot be ignored… that being said they should also stock schools with nice things too.
As for “groups” like that one talked about recently that tries to keep mangas out of school libraries? It must nice to be ignorant, saves on having to think for one’s self.
Overall?
It’s a two year old book (and I don’t know how many has come out) but it’s one of TOKYOPOP’s best in it’s strength of content, and it’s something teenagers should read since it has lots of relevance to their lives and the problems they face. If you ever wanted to check something out that you could review for a class assignment or a thesis that had to do with the problems facing today’s youth (and not so young)? You really can’t go wrong with Confidential Confessions. It’s worth your time to check out, and worth your time to read and pass on to others.
Speaking of quality reads that is worth having in High School, though this is strong for different reasons than Confidential Confessions, I recommend the OT read of GTO (Great Teacher Onizuka) because that is one of the most solidly written, well done titles I’ve ever had a chance to read. I didn’t read it long, though due to budgetary constraints over taste (I approve of it), but I think it’s a great read for older teens.
Try both of these and who knows? You might learn something while you’re reading.